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HOMES 



ON THE 



SOUTH SIDE 



RAILROAD OF LONG ISLAND, 




FOR 



KTgw York Business Men. 



Published for gratuitous distribution by the 
South Side R. R. Company of Long Isla?id. 



■«>^xt»- 



l&xoo\d^n, ®, :3). 



1873- 



Entered accordiao' to Act of Congress, in th? year 1373, by Gkorgs L. Catlin, 
in th2 Oifi:e of ths Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Off leiiE Mi Biiiei ois 

— OF THE — 

SOUTH SIDE RAILROAD 



— OF — 



JOHN J. SHIPHERD, - - PRESIDENT. 

ELIHU HOSFORD, - VICE-PRESIDENT. 

CHARLES L. HOPKINS, 

Secretary. 

CHARLES H. DEWEY, 

Treasurer. 

H. G. SMITH, 

General Manager. 

L. S. CANFIELD, 

Superintendent 

C. H. DEWEY, 

A uditor. 

J. C. LANE, 

Chief Engineer 

GEO. H. GRIGGS, 

Master Mechanic. 

THEO. WELLS, 

Purchasing Agent. 

THEO. WELLS, ^ 

Land Agent. 

L. C. SLEIGHT, 

Supt. of Depots. 



JOHN J SHIPHERD, WILLIAM FLOYD JONES. 

CHARLE3 FOX. ELIHU HOSFORD, 

J. BOORMAN JOHNSTON, H. C. HEPBURN, 

JACOB R. SHIPHERD, WALTER S. CARTER, 

DANIEL T. UTLLETS, T. D. TAPPEN, 

JOHN D. JONES, GEO. WM. BaLlOU, 
CHARLES H. DEWEY. 



HOMES 



i 



.'^ 



SO UTH SIDE 



RAILROAD 



LONG ISLAND 



A Sketch of the Region traversed by the South Side Railroad of Long 
Island, between Brooklyn and Moriches, together with a State- 
ment OF THE Inducements offered by Property Owners along 
the Line, for the purchase of 



HOMES FOR NEW YORE BUSINESS MEN. 



yusi without the rush and bustle 
0/ the City's throbbing hearth 



B^^ G-EIOI^OE: L. O-i^TLIIoT. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 
SOUTH SIDE RAILROAD COMPANY OF ^, . J ISLAND. 



./ 



873. 



tfrd^py^ sH'f 



INTRODUCTION. 



The annually increasing demand for complete, succinct 
and reliable information concerning the numerous attractive 
towns and villages on the Hne of the South Side Railroad of 
Long Island, as eligible places of residence for New York 
business men, has rendered desirable the publication, for 
gratuitous distribution by the Company, of a work of this 
character, setting forth the inducements offered to prospec- 
tive settlers, conjointly by the Company and real estate 
owners at each point, the natural advantages in point of 
health and surroundings, the religious, educational and so- 
cial facilities to be met with, and a general statement of the 
advantages to be derived by exchanging a home in the city 
for one in the healthful and salubrious region traversed by 
the road. Interwoven with the narrative will be found 
many facts of historical or cotemporaneous interest, pertain- 
ing to the various localities mentioned. The rapidly grow- 
ing popularity of Long Island, as a place of surburban resi- 
dence, gives assurance of future development far exceeding 
the expectations of the most sanguine. Already thriving 
towns and villages, cities in embryo, have sprung up in the 
fields and woods as if by magic ; older places, stationary for 
years, have awakened to new life and vigor ; streets, avenues, 
hotels, manufactories, churches and school houses spring 
suddenly into existence, and the region which a few short 
years ago was deemed remote and inaccessible, becomes, by 
the enterprise of men and the agency of steam, transformed 
into one continuous settlement, teeming with life and pros- 
perity, andojOeopled mainly by men whose avocations call 
them daily toT^nc^, great metropolis. 

G. L. C. 




"Why not move out into 
the country?" This was 
the inquiry addressed by a 
portly, good-natured elder- 
- ly gentleman one afternoon 
in a shipping office on 
South street, to his book-keeper, a 
young man of twenty-five, who, at the 
close of his day's duties, had stepped in 
to have a confidential talk with his em- 
ployer about the difficulties he encoun- 



4 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

tered in supporting himself and his family upon a salary 
which, though fully as large as competent accountants 
usually receive, proved, he said, notwithstanding economy 
and system, quite inadequate to the aggregated demands of 
his city-landlord, grocer, butcher, and — doctor. 

'* The fact is, Mr. Gunnybags," said the young man, " I 
am almost discouraged. I have hesitated a long time to 
speak to you on this subject, for your kindness and liberality 
make me loth to say anything which could be construed into 
ingratitude. But really, I find myself, month by month, get- 
ting more and more behind hand, do what I will to econo 
mize. I live moderately, keep but one servant, don't even 
think of cigars, or wine, or horses, do without a great many 
things that may almost be considered the necessities of hfe 
— and notwithstanding all this, find my expenses, Httle by 
little, growing to be in excess of my income. So I have de- 
termined to tell you the whole story, and ask your advice." 

Now, Mr. Gunnybags was a kind hearted man, always 
ready to do what he could to lighten the burdens of his fel- 
low creatures. Moreover, he had noticed of late that there 
was something weighing on the young man's mind. So he 
said, "Take a seat, Mr. Manifest, and let us talk this mat- 
ter over. Now, in the first place, have you any income to 
depend upon beyond your salary ?" 

" No, sir." 

" Very well, then, take your two thousand dollars, and if 
you have no objection, let me know what becomes of it." 

''Well, sir, in the first place the largest item is house-rent. 
I've got a little house, two stories and an attic, up in Six- 
tieth Street, west of the park, for which I have to pay a 
yearly rent of eleven hundred dollars." 

"■ There's more than half your income gone already." 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 5 

" I know it, sir, but what alternative had I ? We boarded 
for a year down on Thirtieth Street. The board bills alone 
amounted to fifteen hundred dollars, leaving out our personal 
expenses, servant hire and doctor bills, and the discomforts 
and annoyances which we experienced made me resolve not 
to try it for another year. Then we tried the plan of rent- 
ing a floor, but that was really very little better, either in 
point of economy or privacy. So I took the house in Six- 
tieth Street two years ago, and have been occupying it ever 
since, although the landlord has been hinting pretty broadly 
his intention to raise the rent next year." 

" Well, that's eleven hundred dollars. Now, go on, and 
let us hear what becomes of the remainder." 

" Forty dollars a month, say, to the grocer and butcher, 
and ten dollars for servant hire." 

" That makes six hundred more, or seventeen hundred in 
all out of your two thousand dollars. Now, how do you 
spend the remaining three hundred ?" 

"Gas and fuel about t^n dollars per month, to average it 
the year round." 

" That's eighteen hundred and twenty." 

'•' Then my own daily expenses, car fare, etc., say thirty 
dollars a year." 

" That's eighteen hundred and fifty." 

" And that leaves one hundred and fifty dollars per annum, 
or just twelve dollars and a half per month, for clothing, 
doctors' bills, and all contingencies. Our shoemaker's bills 
alone amount to almost that." 

" How about the doctor's bills ?" 

" Well, sir, the city air don't seem to agree with the chil- 
dren ; one or the other of them is aiHng all the time. Last 
year our bill for medical attendance was about sixty dollars." 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 




FROM WOODWARD'S SUBURBAN AND COUNTRY HOUSES. 

Published by Geo. E. Woodward, 191 Broadway, N. Y, 

" Then how much time does it take you to get down to 
the office from your house and back ?" 

" An hour each way — that is two hours daily, twelve hours 
a week, and two full days in a month passed on the horse 
cars, and standing up most of the way at that." 

" Clearly, then, something must be done," said Mr. Gun- 
nybags, kindly, " for at your time of life, a man should be 
saving money, instead of running into debt." And then, 
after a pause, came the question with which the story opens, 
"Why not move out into the country?" 

This was an idea which, strange to say, had never occurred 
to the young man, who, like thousands of others, was strug_ 
gling on with his burdens, taking it as a matter of course 
that as he never /z^^ lived anywhere save in the city, he 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 7 

never could. The question opened to him a new vista in the 
future, and gave him new hope and courage the more he 
thought upon it. He was silent for a moment or two, and 
then answered, 

" I don't know why it wouldn't be a good plan, sir. What 
is your advice about it ?" 

" Move out of town by all means," replied Mr. Gunnybags. 
'' Leave your exacting landlords, your street cars, your doc- 
tors' bills. Find yourself a home on some one of the well- 
conducted railroads leading out of New York. Hire, if you 
please, at first, but on such terms that your rent-money can 
ultimately be applied in payment on the property, and by- 
and-by it will be your own, with no landlord to raise your 
rent. Then you will have health and happiness around you. 
It will take no longer to reach a home there than it does 
now to reach Sixtieth Street, and beside that you will travel 
comfortably to and fro. Your expenses will be thirty per 
cent, less than they are now, and at the end of the year, you 
will find that out of your income of tv^^o thousand dollars, 
you have been able to save at least five hundred." 

" It certainly strikes me favorably." 

" Perhaps you will miss some of your accustomed city con- 
veniences at first, but their lack will be more than counter- 
balanced by the consciousness that it is money in your pock- 
et, and peace in your mind. Try it, Mr. Manifest, and take 
my word for it, you'll be a rich and a happy man before 
many years have passed away." 

" I beUeve I will, sir. Now, the next question to determ- 
ine is, where to go." 

" I should say somewhere on Long Island. Take the 
South Side Railroad for instance. You could reach the 
Roosevelt Street ferry in five minutes from here, and thence 



8 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

could reach any point on the Hne with comfort and speed 
The boats are commodious, and their cars are as comfort- 
able as any you ever traveled in. I went over the line when 
I took the folks out to Fire Island and Rockaway last summer, 
and it seemed to me I had never seen a road better man- 
aged or equipped. The commutation rates are very mod- 
erate, communication is frequent, and, take it all in all, I 
don't think you could find a more convenient or desirable 
line on which to look around for a suburban residence."* 

" Could I get to the city in good season in the morning, 
do you think ?" 

'•'Certainly; you could reach here by seven, eight or nine 
o'clock, and leave by three, four, five or six. By-the-by, to- 
morrow is a holiday, is it not? Why can't we take a trip 
together over the South Side Railroad, and then we can see 
and judge for ourselves ?" 

" Nothing would please me better." 

" Very well, then," said Mr. Gunnybags, rising and look- 
ing at his watch; "bring your wife along, cross over the 
Grand or Roosevelt Street Ferry, whichever is most conveni- 
ent (the horse cars connect with both), and meet me at the 
South Side depot, at the landing on the other side, in time 
to take the half-past eight train to-morrow morning." 

Mr. Manifest promised to be on hand at the time appoint- 
ed, and thanking his employer, withdrew. Hurrying home 

* It is the purpose of the Brooklj-n Steam Transit Company to construct an 
underground railroad. The route will be from Fulton Ferry uhder the new 
bridge to the corner of Washington and Sands streets, thence into Adams street, 
to Fulton, near the City Hall, thence into Schermerhorn street, and up to Flat- 
bush avenue, and along Flatbush avenue to Flatbush. At this point two sur- 
face roads will branch off— one to Bay Ridge and Coney Island, the other to 
East New York, to connect with all the railroads on Long Island. By this 
means Fulton Ferry will be made the terminus for all the Long Island railroads. 
— -V. V. Times. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 9 

full of his new project, he drew, for the entertainment of 
Mrs. Manifest, a glowing picture of a rural kingdom, in which 
she should shortly be enthroned as queen; and, when he 
awoke early the next morning to make preparations for the 
trip, he remembered distinctly a dream in which a vision of 
rosy, smihng faces, green fields and a neat little homestead 
embowered in foliage, and overlooking the blue ocean, lin- 
gered gratefully in his memory. In after years that dream 
came true, and oft times recalling it, as he grew older and 
richer and happier, Mr, Manifest was invariably wont to bless 
the day when he set out to choose 

A Home on the South Side. 



So, reader, let us accompany them in imagination, and 
see with our own eyes all the varied objects of interest 
which, mile by mile, unfold themselves as we speed over the 
landscape. The sail of a few moments orf tlie East River 
gives us an opportunity to contemplate and admire the genius 
and enterprise evinced in the projected East River bridge, 
the immense stone piers of which rise like twin giants on 
either side of the stream. Here, too, we have a glorious 
view of the two great cities, and the forests of shipping lin- 
ing their shores, a glimpse of the bay and Staten Island in 
the distance, a glance at the Navy Yard, and before we 
have really had time to note them all, the boat is entering 
the slip on the other side. Now we land ; directly before us 
is the depot, a commodious building, occupied on the upper 
floor as offices by the President and other officers of the 
Company, and below as a station and telegraph office. 
Outside the cars are in waiting. Listen ! the bell is striking 
four times, which means that the train will start in just five 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



ihUy'l 




HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 11 

minutes; now the bell strikes three times — that's for the 
dummy engine to back down and couple itself on; now 
again two taps — that's the signal to start — and sure enough, 
off we go through the shaded thoroughfares of the city — 
South 8th Street, Broadway and Boerum Street — a distance 
of a mile and three quarters, to the depot at 

Eyei\y '<Mome ontliejSouTH Side" 

Should be Warmed by either 

SW&VM8» M^M^ESs or a. WwmM^€m 

From the Mammoth Establishment of 

GEORGE W. COGER, 

No. 103 Broadway, Brooklyn, E. D. 



Water Clcsets, Bath Tubs, Copper Boilers, Lift and Force Pumps, Lead Pipe 

and Sheet Lead, Chandeliers, Brackets, and Globes, Tin and Sheet 

Iron Ware. 

%:W N B.— Particular attention given to City and Country Jobbing on 
the line of the South Side R. R. 



BUSHWICK AVENUE, 

at which point are located the freight offices of the Com- 
pany, and its extensive construction and repair shops, em- 
ploying between two and three hundred skilled laborers. 
The view here is quite a varied and interesting one. Behind 
us are the crowded streets — the piles of brick and mortar — 

See advertisements of E. C. Moffat, Cross, Austin & Co., Wilson & Son, 
Tonjes, Hoeft & Co., and W T. Klots &. Bro. , published elsewhere. 



12 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

with here and there some monster building towering high 
above its fellows ; to the right may be seen in the distance 
the hi.Us over which the giant city of Brooklyn, creeping east- 
ward, has spread itself; to the left Newtown Creek and the 
grassy slopes and groves of Maspeth, and directly before us 
the Bushwick Marshes, to the very verge of which the enter- 
prise of man has built up factories and laid out streets until 
stopped by the injunction, "Thus far shalt thou go, and no 
further ;" but the trackway, as if scorning such an obstacle, 
lies straight across the marshy meadows, and the wooded 
hills, dotted with dwellings, loom up invitingly in the dis- 
tance beyond. 

The early history of all this adjacent region teems with 
facts of interest, and dates back to the good old Dutch 
times, when New York was but a trading-post, and hostile 
Indians were wont to molest even settlers on the river bank. 
(See Appendix A.) 

But pondering on the wonderous evidences of growth 
which we see about us, we are suddenly aroused by the 
shrill whistle of the locomotive, which has taken the place ot 
the dummy engine at the head of our train, and in another 
moment are whizzing away over the swamp land marking the 
boundary line between Bushwick and Newtown. Regaining 
the terra firma beyond, we pass on an ascending grade 
through a thickly settled farming country, intersected by 
broad avenues, reminders of the not-distant city, to the sum- 
mit of a ridge, from which, looking back, we may obtain a 
commanding view of Brooklyn, and the Metropolis beyond. 
Here to the left diverges a branch to Hunter's point, where 
connection is made with the Long Island and Flushing rail- 
roads; and a short distance further on, another whistle from 
the locomotive announces our approach to 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 1 3 

FRESH POND. 

(31^ miles ; 46 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

an attractive suburban village, situated at the intersection of 
the railroad with the old Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turn- 
pike (now Metropolitan Avenue), and the Fresh Pond Road, 
connecting Hunter's Point with East New York. A line of 
horse cars passes through the former thoroughfare, running 
from the Lutheran Cemetery, the buildings of which can be 
discerned just beyond, to the Grand Street and North Sec- 
ond Street ferries, thus affording residents at this point fre- 
quent and convenient communication with the city proper, 
the boundary line of which is only three-quarters of a mile 
distant. 

Fresh Pond, which derives its name from a small body of 
water lying at the base of one of the neighboring hills, pos- 
sesses no inconsiderable natural advantages as a point for 
the selection of a villa site, the land rising here and there into 
knolls and ridges, any one of which would prove a desirable 
spot for locating a dwelling. A neat church edifice (German 
Lutheran) already crowns the summit of one of these, and 
looking in another direction, one can see the long rows of 
windows in the extensive oil cloth factory, forming the prin- 
cipal industrial feature of the place. Nor is the place void of 
historic interest. To the left of the track, and on the east 
side of the Hunter's Point Turnpike, stands, in a remarkable 
state of preservation, the Ditmarsh Mansion, a quaint relic 
of the days of Queen Anne, which has been occupied for 
three generations by the family whose name it bears, while 
on the west side, and directly opposite, are the blackened 
ruins of a building, recently burned, under the roof of which 
Washington is said to have made a brief sojourn. 



14 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

Property at this point is valued at $2,000 per acre, or 
from $350 to $400 per city lot (25 x 100). 

Leaving Fresh Pond, we catch occasional glimpses, on the 
left, of the beautifully laid-out grounds of the Lutheran Cem- 
etery, dotted plentifully with white ; then, further on, turn a 
long curve to the northward, pass through a heavy cutting, 
and in a moment more are at 

GLENDALE, 

(43<J^ miles; 51 mins. 5 trains each way daily.) 

A new and growing settlement, built up within the last two 
years on what was formerly known as the Wykofif Estate, the 
old homestead of which, now adapted to the practical uses 
of a public house and a grocery store, may be discerned 
among the trees on a knoll close at hand. The streets and 
avenues intersecting the village are regularly laid out, and 
with the constant, steady infusion of new population. Glen- 
dale promises to become ere long a prosperous and extens- 
ive suburb. To the north of the station, and about half a 
mile distant, is Middle Village, a town, or, more properly 
speaking, a continuation of Williamsburgh, on Metropolitan 
Avenue, said to contain fifteen hundred inhabitants, boasting 
three churches, good schools, and regular and frequent com- 
munication by horse cars with the ferries ; and to the south 
are Myrtle Auenue, running straight to the City Hall, and 
Cooper Avenue, extending to Broadway, Williamsburgh. 

With such numerous and direct communications as these 
with the Metropolis, the steady growth of this promising vil- 
lage is not remarkable. And the facilities offered by pro- 
perty owners, in the opening of broad streets and avenues, 
the planting of shade trees, and the establishment of a good 
system of drainage ; the erection of a handsome gothic depot, 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 1 5 

containing a ticket and telegraph office ; and, most import- 
ant of all, the easy and moderate terms upon which property 
is ofifered to those desirous of securing a suburban home, all 
promise ere long to make Glendale a thriving addition to the 
already great City of Brooklyn. 

Good building lots can be purchased at Glendale for $150. 
(See advertisement herewith.) 

1EIOMESATGX.EMDAI.B. 

First station east of Brooklyn City Line on South Side R. R.; only 23 minutes 
from ferry. 

Prices of Lots, $150 and upward. 
Terms, $5 and $10 per Month. 

No Taxes, Interest or Assessments ! Possession given on first instalment ! 

400 Lots already sold, and 40 houses built! This Property will soon 

be doubled in price ! Only a few Lots left at the above prices ! 

Free tickets supplied to examine the property, and an Agent will accompany 
any party on any day desired. Apply at the office of the 

GLENDALE LOT ASSOCIATION, 81 Cedar St., N. Y. 

JOHN C. SCHOOI.EY, President. 

Resuming our journey, we pass through a pleasing succes- 
sion of apparently fertile farm lands, stretching away for sev- 
eral miles on either side of the track, catch here and there a 
view of some quiet homestead, to which the hum and bustle 
of city life, daily coming nearer, has not yet penetrated ; and 
after a ride of two and a quarter miles, passing the thickly 
wooded crest of the Long Island hills, and emerging sudden- 
ly upon the plain, obtain a panoramic view of the lower 
half of the Richmond Hill Estate, and presently find our- 
selves at the charming village of 

RICHMOND HILL. 

(7 miles ; 53 mins. 6 trains each way daily.) 

Upon alighting, the observant visitor will at once perceive 



1 6 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

that is he surrounded by no ordinary evidences of enterprise 
and culture. Broad, well-kept streets and avenues, lined 
with shade trees, smooth, well-cultivated knolls and uplands, 
adorned with villas and cottages of picturesque and modern 
styles, a depot, furnished with a telegraph office, and said to 
be in its appointments the handsomest and most convenient 
on the island; these, with the occasional tinkle of the horse 
car bell, and a general air of thrift, neatness and comfort, 
combine to assure the visitor in search of a home on the 
South Side that he may here not search in vain. And yet, 
four years ago, so much may energy and capital achieve, this 
smihng, beautiful village had no existence, save in the brain 
of its enterprising projector, the late Mr. Edward Richmond, 
who, selecting a tract of two hundred and eighty acres of 
rolling lands (belonging to the Lefferts and Welling Estates), 
offering perfect healthfulness, complete drainage, and a genial 
southerly exposure, named it in honor of the delightful resort 
near London, in England, and at once proceeded to make 
it available by laying out thoroughfares, and rendering acces- 
sible the hundreds of eligible building sites which it con- 
tained. Its subsequent rapid development proves the wis- 
dom of its selection. In point of health, convenience, or 
attractive surroundings, one could not wish a more desirable 
home outside of the city. Situated, at some points, an hun- 
dred and forty feet above the level of the sea, equally desir- 
able either as a summer or a winter residence, commanding, 
from the crest of its beautiful hills, views of Flushing, West- 
chester County, the Palisades, the Highlands of Neversink, 
and the ocean beyond Rockaway, and offering to its resi- 
dents frequent communication not only by steam with the 
Metropolis, but also by horse cars with Fulton Ferry on the 
one hand, and with the stores, churches and schools of Ja- 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



RIC[-IMO:?^D HILL. 



new; „rx->::^w, V 



17 





Cottages, Mansard-Roof Dwellings, 

AND 

E I. I C3- IB X. E 

AND 

V^illsL Sites! 

FOR SALE 

AT 

J^ MODERATS HATES AND EASY TERMS OF .m 
PAYMENT ! 

Specially adapted for a, 1 

private residences, and re- 
stricted against all nui- 
sances. 



^^^ For description of _ 



property see page 16. 
^pply to 

R. R. HAZARD, Jr. IJO Broadway, N. Y. 

OR, 

O. B. FOWLER, Agent, Richmond Hill. 




i8 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 




HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 1 9 

maica (one and three quarter miles distant) on the other, 
Richmond Hill justly claims the attentive admiration of all 
who contemplate exchanging a home in the dusty city for 
one in the suburbs. Fulton Street, Myrtle Avenue, and the 
Williamsburgh and Jamaica Turnpike also intersect it, and 
within its limits may be found, too, many charming drives, 
recently laid out by property owners. 

Mo e than this, its school faciHties, aside from those of- 
fered by its before-mentioned proximity to Jamaica, are un- 
usually good. A large and tasteful pubHc school-house has 
recently been completed, at a cost of nearly $5,000, and an 
excellent private school is also open, under the conduct of 
an estimable lady, the widow of the late Joseph B. Lyman, 
of the N. V. Tribune. There is also a public hall, in which 
religious services are held regularly, for those who prefer 
attending them to taking the horse cars on Fulton Street, or 
the steam cars from the adjacent station of the Brooklyn 
Central R.R. at L larenceville, for the Jamaica churches. 

The value of property at Richmond Hill depends, of 
course, to a great extent, upon its location. It may, how- 
ever, be said to average per acre at $1,750, while lots (25x100) 
vary in price from one to four hundred dollars. Tasteful 
and convenient dwelHngs, substantially constructed, can also 
be purchased on advantageous terms. (See advertisement.) 

A ride of another three-quarters of a mile brings us to 

BERLIN, 

{j% miles ; 55 rain. 7 trains each way daily.) 

A small village attractively located in the centre of a broad, 
open stretch of farming land, intersected not only by the 
road over which we are traveling, but by the Brooklyn Cen- 
tral & Jamaica R.R., and the Long Island R.R., whicli here 



20 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

all converge toward a common centre in the now not distant 
village of Jamaica. Three years ago the depot was erected 
at this point, and since that time there has been consider- 
able activity in the sale of property, opening of streets and 
erection of buildings. Washington Avenue, a fine thorough- 
fare sixty feet wide, extends through the village from the 
South Side to the Long Island R.R. depot, opening many 
desiiable building sites within convenient access of either. 
Land sells at this point at from $150 to $250 per lot. 

And now, as we hurry onward again, we see every mo- 
ment indications of our approach to a more thickly settled 
region. Streets and buildings, and vehicles and people are 
to be seen on both sides ; chimneys, and turrets, and spires 
loom up from among the tree tops ; the whistle blows, the 
train slackens its speed, and the brakeman, opening the 
door, calls out, 

"JAMAICA." 

(8K miles ; 58 min. 7 trains each way daily.) 

And here we are at one of the quaintest and most inter- 
esting towns to be found the country over ; for Jamaica has 
an early history of its own, dating down from the Indian 
days, and interwoven with all the events of the Dutch occu- 
pation, the Colonial times, the war for independence, and 
the subsequent period of growth and progress. Naturally 
enough, one would suppose that its name came from its 
fellow Jamaica in the West Indies. Not* so, however, the 
most reliable authorities stating that it was called after the 
Jameco Indians, a tribe inhabiting this portion of the island. 
Jameco, in course of time, came to be perverted into "Ja- 
maica," which name has been retained in preference to the 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 2T 

old Dutch title of Rusdorp, (a country village,) given it by 
Governor Stuyvesant. — (See Appendix B.) 

Jamaica was incorporated as a village April 15th, 1814. 
In 18 1 9 t\iQ Long Island Farj?ier, and in 1835 the Zong 
Island Democrat were established, and both are still pub- 
lished here, as are also the Standard axidi the Catholic Church 
Journal (German), which commenced publication at a more 
recent date. With the advent of its first railroad, Jamaica 
commenced to take rapid steps forward ; then came a sec- 
ond, and a third, and a fourth means of communication with 
the Metropolis by rail ; and lo, many years will not probably 
elapse ere Fulton Street, which passes direct from the East 
River to the centre of Jamaica, will be continuously built up, 
a distance of twelve miles, from end to end, with the build- 
ings in good old Jama'ca numbered somewhere up in the ten 
thousands. 

A stroll through the town, with its shaded streets for 
dwellings, its busy^ thoroughfares of trade will bring to the 
visitor many objects worthy his attention. The new Town 
Hall, completed two years ago, is an elegant structure, as is 
also the pubUc-school building. The sidewalks are flagged, 
and the streets Ht with gas. There are an efficient fire de- 
partment. Masonic and Odd Fellows' lodges, churches of the 
Episcopalian, Dutch Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Presby- 
terian and Roman Catholic denominations, several well 
conducted private schools, and stores and hotels which com- 
pare favorably with any to be found in places of similar size 
elsewhere. 

Jamaica has to-day about eight thousand inhabitants, and 
is steadily growing. Property is offered in moderate quanti- 
ties, and at points convenient to the depot, at reasonable 
rates. During the past three years, an unprecedented activ- 



22 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

ity has developed itself in real estate, a large and fine estate, 
Talfourd Lawn, near to and south-west of the depot, having 
been almost entirely disposed of in lots to actual or intend- 
ing settlers. 

LOCUST AVENUE, 

(lo?^ miles ; I hour 2 min. 3 trains each way daily.) 

Is a small depot station, deriving its rather romantic name 
from the thoroughfare which at that point crosses the track, 
running from the Merrick Plank Road, on the north, to the 
Rockaway Turnpike, on the south. The road is lined with 
pleasant farm houses, and is the outlet to a quite thickly 
settled farming region, offering to the prospective purchaser 
quite a number of attractive sites for the erection of a home 
within business distance of the Metropolis. The next sta- 
tion, 

SPRINGFIELD, 

(12 miles ; 1 hour 5 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

Is a village of some importance, lying principally to the 
northward of the station, and presenting, with its clusters of 
houses, its two neat church buildings, its numerous shade- 
trees, and its quiet, willow-fringed pond in the foreground, a 
charming appearance to the arriving passenger. There is 
considerable business done at this point, the village boasting 
several stores and public houses. 

Just beyond Springfield, we cross first the Rockaway 
Branch of the Long Island Railroad, and a little further on 
the great Aqueduct which supplies the city of Brooklyn with 
water, extending a distance of eighteen miles, from Hemp- 
stead Reservoir to East New York, at which point the water 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 23 

is pumped into the immense Ridgewood Reservoir. This 
great subterranean conduit, which, from this point for some 
distance on, runs parallel to and within a few feet of our 
track, its arched surface forming a grass-grown ridge along 
the level landscape, was built in 1858, has a diameter of ten 
feet, (large enough to admit of the passage of a carriage and 
horses,) and has a maximum capacity of twenty-seven millions 
of gallons daily. Its average daily supply is, however, about 
twenty millions, the water being drawn from several reser- 
voirs established as feeders at convenient intervals between 
Hempstead and the city. Some distance beyond this, im- 
portant additions to the system of water-supply for Brooklyn 
are in progress, and we shall presently have an opportunity 
to inspect them. 
But here we are at 

BROOKFIELD, 

(13^!^ miles ; i hour lo min. 5 trains each way daily.) 

Another name for the good old village of Fosters Meadows, 
possessing a population of about 1.500, and extending in a 
scattered settlement over an area of about four square miles 
about the centre or village proper, which can be discerned 
among the trees about half a mile to the northward, on the 
Merrick Plank Road. There are three churches here, Meth- 
odist, Lutheran and Roman Catholic, to the latter of which 
is attached an excellent educational institute. The village, 
also, has a pubHc school of its own, and several stores. Pub- 
lic enterprise has, moreover, evinced itself in the construc- 
tion of a canal three miles long, connecting with Jamaica 
Bay, and affording facilties for the cheap transportation 
hither of coal, lumber and provisions. 

Fosters Meadows also possesses some histcrical interest, 



24 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

from the fact that the British, in 1776, tore down a Presby- 
terian meeting-house which had been erected there, and with 
the materials constructed barracks at Hempstead. 

And now the shrill whistle of the locomotive, which has 
been hurrying us on through the smiling scenes of rural 
beauty, announces our approach to the important junction 
village of 

VALLEY STREAM, 

(15 miles ; i hour 13 min. 7 trains each way daily.) 

And looking from the car window, first on one side, then on 
the other, we see trains in waiting — this one on the right to 
carry us to Rockaway, or any of the delightful seaside resorts 
thereabouts ; that one on the left to whisk us over the New 
York & Hempstead Plains R.R. to Hempstead.* For the 
present, however, we must content ourselves with only a 
glance at these attractive diversions. Straight on to Pat- 
chogue our journey Hes to-day. To-morrow, or some other 
day, we will return to Valley Stream, and set out on a trip 
to the seashore, with its glorious breezes, its breakers, its 
bath houses, its scores of places of good cheer for the inner 
man. 

But what of Valley Stream ? Where it got its name must 
remain a mystery. Certainly there is no valley about the 
place ; and the only stream ever visible is the stream of 
passengers that pours out of one train into another on the 

* The Bay Ridge and Hempstead Railroad will be finished in time for next 
summer's (1873) travel The South Side Railroad Company will conduct its 
affairs. Commodious depots will be built at Bay Ridge and New Lots. From 
Bay Ridge fast steame s will carry passengers and freight to the foot of Wall 
Street, New York. This road will afford an outlet to a rich section of the island, 
and cannot fail to be of great benefit to the whole south side, now touched by 
the main line. By controlling this line of road, the South Side Company will 
have access to the Brooklyn Underground Railroad. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 25 

long, hot summer days, when people must get to the sea- 
shore or die. But for all this, Valley Stream has a just right 
to great expectations. As the junction point of four roads, 
its future growth is assured. There are already two or three 
hotels, a flour and grist mill, a telegraph and post office, and 
several neat dwellings, including that of Mr. Olmsted, the 
New York architect. The Merrick Turnpike passes about 
a quarter of a mile to the north, affording easy connection 
with the church and school facilities at Foster's Meadows. 

There are many reasons which induce the belief that 
Valley Stream will shortly assume increased importance as a 
railroad centre. A new road, projected from Whitestone to 
Rockaway Beach, will pass directly through the village, and 

VALLEY STREAM LOTS. 

FOR SALE IN QUANTITIES TO SUIT. 

Special terms to manufacturers, and others who will build. 

There are three railroads now running to Valley Stream, and 
the Bay Ridge Road, landing passengers at Wall Street Ferry, will 
be in operation in 1873. All trains stop at Valley Stream. 

167' Broadway, New York. 

enterprising capitalists also propose to construct at an early 
day a railroad from this point to Near Rockaway, thus af- 
fording the people of that ancient and quite important vil- 
lage more direct communication by steam with New York. 
Much, too, has been done by property owners to develop 
the natural advantages of the locahty, and render it a desir- 
able place of residence. Streets and avenues have been laid 
out, and a magnificent boulevard to Near Rockaway, a dis- 
tance of a mile and a half, is in process of construction. 
Lots and villa sites can be purchased at favorable rates. 



26 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 




■ i'liifiiir 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 27 

The simultaneous whistle of three locomotives — one head- 
ed for Rockaway, another for Hempstead, and our own, the 
third, for the towns ea-.t of us on the main Hne — renders the 
start from Valley Stream quite a busy and noisy episode in 
our journey. Presently, however, both the other trains have 
vanished, and we are whizzing along again through a finely 
settled country, well fenced, and apparently well drained, and 
displaying many substantial and commodious farm-houses, or 
an occasional villa. These gradually become more numer- 
ous as we approach 

PEARSALL'S CORNER, 

(16*4' miles ; I hour 17 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

A village deriving its name from the family formerly owning 
a large tract of adjacent land. At this point passengers 
leave the cars for East (or Near) Rockaway, which is dis- 
tant about a mile and a quarter, and is, in fact, connected 
with Pearsall's Corner by a continuous settlement along the 
two principal streets. Union and Rockaway Avenues, run- 
ning between the two village centres. 

There is a large trade in oysters carried on from this point, 
an average of two hundred and sixty bushels of the delicious 
bivalves being shipped to Fulton Market daily. The attrac- 
tion of an oyster lunch in Fulton Market would, it may safely 
be said, lose half their power were it not for the famous 
Rockaway oysters, which, for the connoisseur, possess such 
a peculiar excellence. The oyster fishermen of East Rock- 
away are not behindhand in availing themselves of this de- 
mand for the product of their neighborhood, and among the 
population are hundreds who make the oyster trade their 
sole dependence. 

In preparing the oysters for the market, they are sorted 



-ZS HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

into three kinds, according to their size and quality. The 
largest are called " extras," the medium size " box ;" the third 
and smallest, called " cullins," are set aside for use in what 
are known as "plain stews." 

Reader, the next time you are in Fulton Market, remem- 
ber this, and if your appetite and purse will warrant, call by 
all means for a dozen of Rockaway " extras." 

In the matter of enterprise, Pearsall's Corner has much to 
boast of, and the arriving visitor is especially struck with the 
size and architectural beauty of the new Methodist church 
just completed near and north-east of the depot. There are 
also two schools, a public and a private one, a public hall, 
four stores, a druggists, a barber-shop, and, in fact, all the 
conveniences that one expects to find in a growing suburban 
village. The population of the village proper is estimated 
at about five hundred, though in the adjacent two square 
miles there are probably twice that number of people. In 
the immediate vicinity of the village, the residence of Dr. 
Auerbach, brother of the celebrated German novelist, the 
author of " On the Heights," and " Village Stories," is point- 
ed out to the traveler. 

Property sells at $i,ooo per acre for building sites, and 
from $200 to $500 for village lots. 

Following still the line of the aqueduct ridge on our left 
for a distance of a mile and a quarter further, we presently 
discry the white church-spire which marks the pretty and 
growing town of 

ROCKVILLE CENTRE. 

(18 miles ; i hour 20 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

Which, with a population of about a thousand, three church- 
es, a district and a high school, a public hall and a weekly 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 29 

newspaper, the South Side Observer^ presents its claims for 
notice as the most important place, excepting Jamaica, which 
we have yet reached since our departure from Brooklyn. 
The approach to the village is quite picturesque, and will 
attract the attention of any but the most stolid observer. 
Upon a knoll a short distance north of the track stands a 
quaint old church edifice, known as the " Old Methodist" 
church, surrounded by its moss-grown tomb-stones, from 
among which may be seen rearing itself conspicuously the 
marble monument erected twenty-five years ago, to mark 
the resting-place of nearly one hundred persons who per- 
ished three years previously in the wrecks of the packet ships 
Bristol and Mexico on the adjacent sea shore. It may be 
stated that the expense of the monument was defrayed by 
the aggregate of the sums of money found upon the bodies 
of the unfortunate voyagers. (See Appendix C.) Just be- 
yond the church, we come in view of a large mill-pond, a 
clear and beautiful body of water, and upon its shores the 
old mill where, in times gone by, the Rev. Mordecai Smith, 
the good pastor of the church just mentioned, devoted such 
leisure as he could spare from expounding the Scriptures to 
grinding corn and keeping an old-fashioned country store for 
the accommodation of the neighborhood. 

The educational facilities of Rockville Centre are unusual, 
the R. C. Institute, under the conduct of Mr, Cheney, 
ranking among the best classical schools on Long Island. 
It occupies the large and handsome edifice surmounted by a 
cupola, discernible a short distance north of the depot. 

As an evidence, in fact, of what enterprise and the railroad 
combined are doing for Rockville Centre, it may be men- 
tioned that during the past year no less than forty new 
buildings have been erected. Building lots 50 x 200, eligibly 



.3© HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

located, can be purchased at five or six hundred dollars, 
while some command even as high as one thousand. 

About a mile to the northward of the village an immense 
work is in progress, and the passenger, if he can spare the 
time, will find it well worth his while to alight and visit the 
spot referred to. For there, on the loth of January, 1872, 
Messrs. Kingsley & Keeney, of New York, who built the 
Brooklyn Reservoir at Prospect Hill, and are largely identi- 
fied with the Brooklyn Bridge and other prominent works, 
commenced the construction of a new reservoir for furnish- 
ing the great city nearly twenty miles away with a vastly in- 
creased supply of that valuable, though by some greatly de- 
spised, fluid, cold water. This great receptacle will require 
three years for its completion, covers an area of 231 acres, 
is two miles long, has an average width of from one to two 
thousand feet, and a depth of nineteen feet, has at its lower 
end a dam twenty-five feet high, and, what will perhaps afford 
the reader a better idea of its size, will have a minimum ca- 
pacity of one thousand million gallons — enough, one would 
say, to supply the city for a year or two ; yet the daily mini- 
mum consumption amounts to over twenty milHons of 
gallons. 

The visitor to this interesting spot will be kindly and 
courteously treated, and will find in the contemplation of the 
great work, the swarms of laborers, and the immense mechan- 
ical appliances employed upon it, renewed gratification at the 
indomitable genius and energy of our people. 

BALDWIN'S 

^2o miles ; i hour 34 min 7 trains each way daily.) 

Is a small and attractive village, named in honor of Hon. 
Francis B. Baldwin, whose handsome residence, surrounded 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 3 1 

by spacious barns and granaries, may be seen to the south- 
ward of the track, just before we reach the depot. Upon 
Mr. Baldwin's grounds is also one of the finest private trout 
ponds in this section of the State, the numerous streams that 
run down from the interior of the island abounding in that 
delicious and wary fish, the artificial breeding of which is 
also carried on to a considerable extent at this and other 
adjacent points. 

North of the railroad track a few hundred yards distant 
may also be seen the private driving park attached to Mr. 
Baldwin's estate. 

The village itself has a small scattered population, a pub- 
lic school-house which stands on a knoll on our left near the 
depot, a Methodist Church, and that other great public con- 
venience, a post-office. There are quite a number of pretty 
building sites within five or ten minutes of the depot, the 
price of land being about the same as that quoted at the 
previous station. 

The scenes of our journey now begin to derive variety 
from glimpses of an occasional creek or inlet, opening away 
to the sea-shore on our right. Other than this, however, 
there is little to vary the monotony of the view on either 
side until our arrival at 

FREEPORT, 

(21% mile -5 1 hour 28 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

A village with a population of two thousand, healthfully 
located on a dry, fertile ridge, running north and south, and 
extending about two miles back from the shore. Along the 
summit of this elevation extends the main street of the 
village, intersecting the railroad at the point where the de- 
pot stands, and also crossing in the village centre the Mer- 



32 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

rick & Jamaica turnpike. Westward from this thorouglifare 
there stretches away a broad expanse of meadow land, 
through which it is proposed to open a number of streets 
and avenues, thereby rendering available for building pur- 
poses many eligible sites. There is already a spirit of en- 
terprise evinced in Freeport, and with it an increased activity 
in real estate interests. Among the fine residences already 
erected may be mentioned those of Geo. W. Bergen, Esq.. 
a short distance west of the village, and that of Geo. W, 
Wallace, Esq., of the South Side Observer^ which fronts on 
Main Street, near the depot. In public edifices, too, the 
village makes a very respectable showing. There are two 
churches (Methodist and Presbyterian), both of them taste- 
fully constructed, a public school and a Freeport Academy, 
two hotels, and a public hall. In addition to these, a new 
church, school and parsonage are projected, and a hand- 
some French-roof building, for use as a public house and 
billiard saloon, is in process of construction, directly oppo- 
site the depot. 

Freeport is largely interested in the oyster trade, too, as 
many as eighteen tons of oysters being shipped thence to 
the Metropolis in a single day. The oyster docks extend 
for a quarter of a mile or so along the shore of the creek at 
the southerly end of the village, and at certain seasons of the 
year present an active and busy spectacle ; in fact, the trav- 
eler along " Long Island's sea-girt shore " will not have made 
his tour complete, unless he shall have devoted an hour or 
two to a stroll along the winding roadway which, lined with 
cottages, conducts him to the landing, where, looking over 
the acres of meadows which line the shore, and following 
with his eye the devious course of the creek which winds 
through them, he may discern the blue ocean in the distance. 



HuMKS ON THE SOL'I H SIDE. 33 

and be reminded, perchance, of a similar scene so beautifully 
described by Longfellov/ in Evangeline. 

One of the hfe-saving stations established along the coast 
by the Government is located on the beach at Freeport, a 
crew of eight men being detailed with a life-boat for constant 
readiness to assist any vessel which may be cast ashore in 
their immediate vicinity during the winter season. In sum- 
mer the detail is reduced to the number of two men. 

Freeport possesses postal and telegraphic facilities, and a 
number of well-kept stores, affording those who may make 
it their home many conveniences not enjoyed in all villages 
of its size. Those who desire to purchase here can secure 
good lots (50 X 100) in the heart of the village for from $300 
to $500, or can buy by the acre at prices varying from $1,000 
to $1,500. 

Our next stopping-place is 

MERRICK, 

(23 miles; i hour 32 inin. 7 trains each way daily.) 

Deriving its name from the Meric tribe of Indians, who 
formerly inhabited the region extending from Near Rock- 
away to Oyster Bay, and beautifully situated near and in full 
view of Hempstead Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a 
population of about two hundred, the residents being princi- 
pally wealthy farmers, with lands pleasantly situated, and in 
a good state of cultivation. '1 he milk business is also car- 
ried on here to a considerable extent. There are two good 
stores, post and telegraph oflices, a paper mill, a saw mill, 
and good water-power for other manufacturing purposes. 
There is also a good district school in a flourishing condition. 
The stranger arriving at Merrick cannot fail to be struck 



34 



HOMES ON THE SOU IH SIDE. 




HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



35 



with the evidences of neatness, enterprise and growth which 
he sees about liim. A few steps from the cars bring him 
to the centre of Merrick Avenue, a stately thoroughfare, six- 
ty-six feet in width, and three and a half miles long, stretch- 
ing away to the ocean on the one hand, and to the distant 
blue hills which form the ridge or backbone of the Island, 
on the other. A convenient sign-post informs him that, 
going south, he will reach the Brooklyn and Babylon Turn- 
pike at a distance of half a mile, and the Merrick landing or 
public dock half a mile further ; and going north three 
miles, the residence of P. C. Barnum, Esq., the time-honored 
New York clothing merchant. (See advertisement pubHshed 
elsewhere.) Three years ago, Mr. Barnum, who, it may be 
mentioned en passant^ owns fifteen hundred acres of land in 
Queens County, and is a devoted patron of agricultural in- 
terests on Long Island, purchased at this point a tract of 
about two hundred acres, forming a beautiful natural park, 
offering a large number of convenient sites for villa res- 
idences, and possessing also a fine water-power, available for 
manufacturing purposes. This tract, which is now under 
careful cultivation, Mr. Barnum contemplates at no distant 
day preparing for the market, as a site for homes for 
New York business men. Merrick avenue, which passes 
through the handsomest part of A. T. Stewart's purchase, 
will, during the spring of the present year, be extended to 
Westbury, on the Long Island R.R., with Glen Cove on the 
north shore as its ultimate objective point, thus prospectively 
opening a majestic sweep of road across the entire Island, 
and one which, upon the contemplated extension of tlie Bay 
Ridge and Hempstead R.R. to Jerusalem, will be intersected, 
within a space of six miles and at equal distances, by no 
less than four railroads running direct to the Metropolis. 



36 HOMI'.S ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

The observant stranger, even unaware of these antici- 
pated advantages, can see at a glance that Merrick is pos- 
sessed of activity and enterprise far beyond its years and 
size. The sidewalks are planted with shade-trees, lined with 
hedges, and lit by street-lamps ; while here and there may 
be seen, rearing itself among the foliage, a dwelling of more 
than ordinary architectural pretensions. Midway between 
the depot and the landing, at the crossing of the Babylon 
pike, stands the spacious summer residence of Charles Fox, 
Esq., President of the South Side R.R. Company; and a 
short distance north of it, that of C. W. Douglas, Esq., the 
late efficient Superintendent of the Company, but now oc- 
cupying a similar position with the N.Y. & Oswego Midland 
R.R. Co. 



FOR SALE AT MEHRICK, LONG ISLAND. 

On the South Side Railroad, twenty miles from New York, a splendid residence, 
complete with all modern improvements, beautifully situated, on Broad Avenue, 
only three minutes' walk from the depot, and ten minutes walk to Great South 
Bay. II rooms. House 25 x 26. French Roof. Extension 15 x 18. Lot 150 x 
300-^18 City Lots. House built of seasoned lumber and by days' work. Hot 
and cold water, stationary tubs in the basement. 

FIRST FLOOR. — Parlor, sitting or dining room, and kitchen, marble man- 
tels in parlor and sitting room, bay windows in parlor and dining room. 

SECOND FLOOR.— Sitting rooms and two large bed-rooms, marble mantels. 

SECOND FLOOR EXTENSION.— Servants' bed room and bath-room, hot 
and cold water. „ ^ , , , 

THIRD FLOOR.— Three large bed-rooms. Lot well fenced, good garden : 
front yard nicely laid out. All trains stop at Depot. Price low, terms easy. 

For further information apply to 

JERE. JOHNSON, Jr., 21 Park Row, N. Y. 

The grounds of the Long Island Camp-Meeting Associa- 
tion, which have been beautifully ornamented and improved, 
and which are annually visited by thousands of persons, are 
situated a mile north of the depot. The locality abounds, 
too, in natural water-courses, among which are the celebrated 
Cedar Swamp streams, and in the cedar grove, half a mile 
from the station, is the Dark Bridge, a cool and romantic 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 37 

resort for a summer day. Upon the neighboring shore, 
which it is proposed to connect by a line of horse-cars with 
the railroad, there are capital facilities for boating, fishing 
and still-water bathing ; and a steamboat will also connect 
with the outer beach, where surf-bathing may be enjoyably 
indulged in. 

All trains stop at Merrick, which is also the terminus of 
the early and late trains from New York. With all these at- 
tractions and facilities for communication, it is not remark- 
able that it promises at no distant day to assume the ])ro- 
portions and importance of a closely built village of resi- 
dences occupied by New York business men. Property, in 
lots or villa sites, can be purchased at reasonable rates. 

Our journey eastward from Merrick affords us frequent 
ghmpses of the open sea in the distance, with an occasional 
speck of white sail visible on the horizon. We pass, too, 
through a heavy growth of cedars, a refreshing contrast in 
their rich dark green to the varied foliage which has pre- 
viously fringed our route. Now we near 



BELLMiDRE, 

(24>4 miles ; i hour 35 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

A village presenting to the traveler an attractive appearance, 
as possessing an unusual number of large and elegant private 
residences, showing that not a few have hastened to avail 
themselves of the natural advantages of the locaUty, as re- 
gards beauty and healthfulness, now that the railroad has 
brought it within such easy distance of the MetropoHs. 
Prominent among those who have already purchased and 
settled here is Mr. Fry, whose elegant residence and grounds 
were formerly the property of Mr. Jackson, whose name 



^8 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

Bellmore and Ridgewood. 

FOE SALE ! BniLDIIG SITES ! 

IN THESE BEAUTIFUL PLACES, 

IN 

^\.o\.«» \o S vv'v\ '^ vv V e;\\ a % e/ V ?. \ 



LAND AT BOTH THESE POINTS IS LAID OUT 
IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO AFFORD PUR- 
CHASERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SE- 
CURE SUCH QUALITIES AS 
THEY MAY DESIRE. 



PRICE OF LOTS from $75 to $500. 
SIZE OP LOTS from 25 x 150 to 100 x 200. 



For particulars, apply to 

T]:ioina.s Vv^ell^wood, 

J/> Uilloughbi/ St,^ BrooJdyn. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SlDE.j 39 

has figured so conspicuously in connection with the extensive 
Jackson Hollow litigations in the Brooklyn^" courts. The 
principal property adjacent to the depot is in the hands of 
enterprising owners, who have recently purchased it wath the 
determination of developing its natural resources to their 
fullest capacity, and placing it in the market in lots and villa 
sites at most reasonable terms. (See advertisement on 
page 3S.) 

' Bellmore has a population of about five hundred, enjoying 
the advantages of a church (Methodist), school and several 
stores. 

A ride of another mile, during which we cross three fine 
running streams, all abounding in sport for the angler, brings 
us to 

RIDGEWOOD, 

(25I4 miles ; I hour 37 min. 5 trains each way daily.) 

The approach to which is rendered somewhat interesting by 
a view of an old mill, picturesquely located in a grove just 
north of the track. Both here, and at Bellmore, the traveler 
will observe that the land has a grade of about thirty feet to 
the mile, affording purchasers of property for residences am- 
ple assurances of excellent facilities for drainage and health- 
fulness of surroundings, while manufacturers may at the same 
time advantageously avail themselves of the water-power 
thus offered by the adjacent streams. There are in this vi- 
cinity three large and well-stocked trout ponds, including 
Ridgewood Pond, a beautiful sheet of water ; and here, too, 
pic-nic and excursion parties can enjoy the shady beauties of 
one of the finest groves on the Island. An especially notice- 
able feature of Ridgewood is the fact that there appear to be 
no poor settlers, the residences being all of a superior qual- 



40 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

ity, and conveying to the pros])ective purchaser a guarantee 
that there will be no nuisances to detract from its desirabil- 
ity as a spot for the selection of a home. 

7^he village itself, though as yet sparsely built up, is regu- 
larly laid out on both sides of the track, and derives an Ad- 
ditional importance as being the connecting point for the 
Quaker village of Jerusalem, a mile and a quarter to the 
northward. It is also the point at which all milk trains are 
made up, and as many as three thousand quarts of the lacteal 
fluid are daily shipped hence over the road. 

The owners of property at both this point and Bellmore 
offer extraordinary inducements to purchasers (see advertise- 
ment on page s^), and those seeking convenient and 
select homes on the South Side will do well to give their 
offers a fair consideration. 

And now, looking out upon our right, as we again hurry 
eastward, we presently descry the village of Seaford in the 
distance, cross the stream which marks the eastern boundary 
line of Hempstead township, and come to a stanistill at the 
depot at 

SOUTH OYSTER BAY, 

(27!^ miles ; i hour 42 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

A vicinage teeming with reminiscences of historic interest, 
and abounding in natural attractions which have been de- 
veloped and beautified by the hand of man. If on alight- 
ing, the visitor will follow the road running southward from 
the station a distance of half a mile to the main turnpike 
road, which here, as elsewhere on our route, may be found 
skirting the south shore of the Island, a (ew moments stroll 
will bring him to the contemplation of many points of beau- 
ty and interest. At the junction of the two roads mentioned 
he will see on the left hand the stately dwelling, the smooth, 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 41 

shaven lawns, the well-kept shrubbery, and the extensive hot 
houses of the Bronson estate, now owned and occupied by 
the widow of a wealthy Louisiana sugar planter of that name ; 
while on the right hand, telling in its neat exterior, its great 
swinging sign, its broad shaded piazzas, and its numerous 
barns and outbuildings, a silent story of the good cheer to 
be found within its walls, stands the old Vandewater House, 
kept by the family of that name for four generations past, 
and famous as a resort of sportsmen from New York and 
the Island generally. If now, passing the hotel, we turn 
first to the right, we may, after crossing the brook forming 
the boundary line before mentioned, stroll for a moment or 
two through the quaint little sea-side village ot Seaford, 
which, with its post office, Methodist church, hotel, public 
school, four stores, and lumber and coal yard, is rapidly be- 
coming a place of considerable importance ; and then, re- 
tracing our steps to Oyster Bay township, which, by the way, 
extends entirely across the Island from the Atlantic to the 
Sound, again pass the old hostelry and the Bronson place, 
and come in view of Massapequa Lake, a magnificent body 
of water covering some seventy acres, and having its outlet 
over a dam which we pass by the roadside. Upon the east- 
ern shore of the lake, which is studded with wooded islands, 
and is also famous as one of the finest trout preserves in the 
State, stands, on a commanding site, the spacious residence 
of its owner, WiUiam Floyd Jones, Esq., the Vice President 
of the South Side Railroad Company, whose ancestors as far 
back as 1696 came into possession of a large and valuable 
tract hereabout, known as " Fort Neck ;"* and whose imme- 

* This name is derived from an old Indian earthwork still visible on the adja- 
cent sea shore, where in 1653 an engagement took place be ween the Massape 
quas, and the white settlers under Capt. John Underhill. 



42 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

diate relatives are with him to this day the owners and oc- 
cupants of the estate, which has been adorned here and 
there with several elegant villas, and a tasteful little Episco- 
pal (Grace) church where services are held weekly the year 
round. 

The original homestead of the Jones family was built in 
1695, at a point directly in front of where the present resi- 
dence of Wm. Floyd Jones, Esq., now stands, and after an 
existence of nearly half a century, during which it acquired 
the reputation of being " a haunted house," was pulled down 
in 1837. But in the meantime Judge Samuel Jones (the 
great grandfather of the gentleman just mentioned) had 
built, at a point about a quarter of a mile to the eastward on 
the turnpike road, a princely mansion, which was completed 
some time during the year 1774, and which stands to-day, 
after a lapse of a century, as substantial, handsome and com- 
fortable a dweUing as may be found on Long Island. Mr. 
Lossing, in his excellent " Field Book of the Revolution," 
gives his reader a view of this good old homestead, and nar- 
rates several facts of great interest connected with it, one of 
which the writer has appended as possessing an usual inter- 
est. (See Appendix D.) 

Out of compliment to Governor Tryon, the place was 
called Tryon Ha.U by Judge Jones, who built it. Over the 
main doorway of the spacious hall which the visitor first en- 
ters, are a pair of antlers from a buck killed in the Mohawk 
Valley, and presented to the proprietor by Sir William John- 
son. Though built a century ago, when building materials 
had to be drawn by expensive and tedious means from New 
York, this house is one of no ordinary compactness, beauty 
and durability. The ceilings are fully as high as our own of 
to-day, the floors are wonders of joiner work, the stairs, con- 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



43 




FROM WOODWARD'S SUBURBAN AND COUNTRY HOUSES. 

Published by Geo. E. Woodward, 191 Broadway, N. Y. 

structed without any outer support, are a marvelous problem 
of engineering skill, and the oaken rafters in the roof are as 
solid to-day as when first put in their places by workmen 
whose grandchildren are now grey-haired men. In fact, one 
must indeed be stolid and commonplace who can visit the 
homestead of a family whose history is so closely and hon- 
orably interwoven with that of its native State, who can 
tread its echoing floors, or contemplate the faces in the fam- 
ily portraits looking down on him with their quiet stories of 
the dead past, and not see dim visions of those colonial days 
when proud gentlemen and stately dames made these walls 
resound with merriment and revelry. 

But time and the spirit of development have commenced 



44 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

to show themselves even here, and- it is probable that ere 
long a portion of the estate which fronts direct'y upon tlie 
sea, and commands a charming view, will be found built uj) 
with handsome villas and cottages. Certainly one could not 
wish for a more beautiful, healthful or interesting spot, and 
those who avail themselves of the opportunity will find that 
they can purchase at extremely reasonable prices. 

Bidding finally a reluctant adieu to this interesting spot, 
we find the next train is in waiting, and after a short ride of 
two miles, during which we cross a streamlet marking the 
boundary line between Queens and Suffolk Counties, and 
pass also the handsome newly-erected depot and spacious 
public building which form a nucleus for the projected vil- 
lage of Wurtemburg, arrive at 

AMITYVILLE, 

(30>4 miles ; i hour 49 min. 6 trains eacii way daily.) 

A thriving village of between one and two thousand inhabit- 
ants, which is annually growing in favor as a summer re- 
sort, being situated on the shore of Great South Bay, oppo- 
site the Oak Island Beach, which extends a distance of eight 
or nine miles eastward from Gilgo Inlet to Oak Island Inlet. 
There are two excellent hotels here, and many elegant pri- 
vate residences, which give evidence of both liberality and 
t; rchitectural taste in their construction. Many of the 
v/ealthier residents are men who have accumulated fortunes 
•lis dealers in Fulton and Washington Markets. The older 
];ortion of the town which, prior to the construction of the 
railroad was reached by a Hne of stages from Fulton Ferry, 
is situated some distance south of the track, is quite closely 
j)uilt up, and contains a number of fine buildings, including 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



<o 




:|ill|i;il 



1 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



AMITY VILLE ! 

SUPERIOR 

BUILDING LOTS AND VILLA SITES 

FOTl SALE, 
Within three minutes walk of the depot, 

AT 

MODSBATE PEICES and EASY TERMS OF PAYMENT. 

Address, STEPHEN R. WILLIAMS, 

Amity ville, or 126 Si 139 WasMngtcn Market, N. Y. 




FROM WOODWARD'S SUBURBAN AND COUNTRY HOUSES. 

Published ey Geo. E. Woodward, 191 Broadway, N. Y. 

Some desirable property! or Homes on the South Side, is advertised above by 
Mr. Stephen R. Williams, who may be found at his residence in Amityville 
during the spring and summer seasons, and who will be pleased to show visitors 
over fiis grounds. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 45 

a recently erected public school house which would be a 
credit to any community. North Amityville, or that portion 
of the village contiguous to the station, has been built since 
the advent of railroad faciHties, is well laid out, and offers 
many attractive building sites. There are also in the village 
two churches, both Methodist, a private school, a post office 
and telegraph station, and a number of stores. Property 
may be purchased at prices varying from $600 to $1,000 per 
acre. As an evidence of the enterprise and growth oC the 
place, It may be mentioned that twelve new buildings have 
been erected during the past year. 

Two miles and a quarter beyond Amityvi le, emerging 
suddenly upon a wide, open plain, bounded on the north by 
the blue hills in the distance, and south by the sea-shore, we 
come upon a wide-spread settlement, looking for all the 
world as if several hundred buildings from the city of Brook- 
lyn or Williamsburg had been picked up bodily, transported 
hither, and transplanted at wide intervals over the landscape. 
Hotels, churches, dwellings, factories, shops — all presenting 
a metropolitan appearance, and regularly laid out streets and 
avenues stretching away as far as the eye can reach — all 
combine to give an unwonted air of prosperity and import- 
ance to the flourishing village of 



BRESLAU, 

(32><^ miles; i hour ssmin. s trains each way daily.) 

Where, in three years' time has sprung up, as it were in the 
solitudes a thriving, bustHng settlement, teeming with Hfe, 
and giving promise of a great and successful future. There 
are here two churches, excellent schools, several important 
manufactories, and a capital hotel, where accommodation 



46 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

BRESLAU. 

J8^-THE ^^^ONDER OF THE AGE! 

ASTONISHING PROGRESS IN 



limit im|f©Y@miiiB, 

The Best Pom on Long Island 

FOU MAKING INVESTMENTS. 

Lots are selling at good prices in all parts of the new city. 
Prices range from $oO to $500, 



ALREADY ESTABLISHED. 

A sure prospect mnthin Jit e years of being the largest 
city on Long Island, outside of Brooklyn. 

For particulars apply to 

THOMAS WELLWOOD, 

15 Willoughby Street, 

Brooklyn. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 47 

may be had for fifty guests. The streets and avenues of 
Breslau are well laid out, wide and well graded, one of 
them, Hoffman Avenue, through which the railroad passes, 
being especially noticeable in this regard. Most of the pro- 
perty has been laid off into city lots, and is offered for sale 
at prices varying, of course, according to location, but in all 
cases reasonable. The first plan of the town was drawn in 
1869, by Thomas Wellwood, Esq., who, in April of the fol- 
lowing year, erected the first house which formed the neu- 
cleus of this now wide-spread settlement. No less than 
twenty thousand lots have since that time been disposed of, 
the majority of them to a thrifty class of Germans, who 
evince, in the rapid growth and development of their attrac- 
tive town, the advantage which any community may secure 
by harmonious and united efforts. 

Leaving behind us these cheering evidences of the growth 
and prosperity that the railroad and private enterprise com- 
bined have wrought, we commence to discover on both sides 
of us pleasing indications of our arrival in a section of the 
Island principally inhabited by well-to-do country gentlemen, 
or by prominent business and professional men of the cities 
of New York and Brooklyn, who have here their rural resi- 
dences, to which at all seasons of the year they may at their 
leisure repair for that recreation and comfort so characteristic 
of life in this good old-fashioned locaHty. While progressive 
in all that renders civilization desirable, the people of these 
parts are yet conservative in their views of hospitality and 
good cheer ; and the stranger finds a welcome seldom met 
with in these days of the almighty dollar. For in the heart 
of their pleasant region is 



4? HOMKS ON THE SOUTH SIDK. 

BABYLON, 

(S5)4 miles ; 2 hours 3 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

And the arriving visitor, observing its neat resi iences, snowy 
church spires, fine stores and school houses, and spacious 
hotels, must at once see that it is the home of a well-to-do 
and public-spirited community. 

The approach to the depot is especially picturesque and 
attractive. On the right one beholds a wide space of fresh 
water, fed by a plentiful stream from the interior, and stretch- 
ing away toward the sea, discernible beyond it. Near this 
pond stands the elegant country residence of Hon. E. B, 
Litchfield, of Brooklyn, and just beyond it an unassuming 
farm-house over one hundred years old, a part of the old 
Bedell estate, but now occupied as a country residence by 
Judge McCue, of the same city. Upon the adjoining 
grounds, a few years ago, a four pound cannon ball was 
turned up by a workman's spade, the presence of the long- 
buried missile being accounted for by the historical fact* 
that during the revolution, residents of this part of the coast 
were constantly exposed to predatory attacks from British 
boats, which, entering Fire Island Inlet, were wont to find 
in the dwellings of the inhabitants attractive targets for their 
howitzer practice. 

Upon the left or north side of the railroad, and a compar- 
atively short distance from it, stands the charming villa of 
August Belmont, and upon one or another of the neighbor- 
ing roads are to be found the summer homes of many prom- 
inent New Yorkers or Brooklynites, among which may be 
named those of Dr. Wagstaff, Royal Phelps, and Messrs. Udell 
and Sutton. Upon reaching the depot, the visitor enjoys 
an agreeable surprise at discovering horse-cars in waiting to 
convey him past the handsome new school house, down the 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



49 




111 



ylllllil 



^'fipp:.iiH:".'""^ 



50 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

Freeport, L. I., 

(See pages 31-33,) 

VERYDESIEAELEHOTELPeOPEBTYF0I},mE 

One Acre, Bcauii/ul Grove, etc., 

T\sro Minutes froin Depot. Price Tioxirl Terms Easy 

Enquire at S. S. E. E. Depot, Freeport. 

wide, shaded main street, past the three principal hotels, to 
the landing, about a mile distant, where the steamer Surf is 
in waiting to carry him nine miles in less than an hour's trip, 
to the summer hotel on the Fire Island beach, famous among 
New Yorkers as an unrivaled sea-side resort. From ten to 
twelve thousand people pass over this ferry and horse-car 
line every summer, and among them some of the best people 
in the country. There is a life-saving station, with two 
boats and a crew of fourteen men, established on the adja- 
cent beach. 

The fish trade of Babylon forms a prominent feature of 
its industries, eight or ten tons of fish being frequently 
shipped to New York in a single day. Residents at Babylon 
are afforded excellent religious and educational facilities, 
there being four churches — Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyte- 
rian and Baptist — a fine academy, and two well-conducted 
private schools. The iSouf/i Side Signal, an admirably con- 
ducted weekly journal, is published here. There are two 
telegraph offices, a straw paper factory, a public hall, and some 
stores that would do credit to a full-grown city. The growth 
of the village toward the east has carried it over the town- 
ship line into Islip, and in this latter part are to be found 
many of the handsomest dwellings, as also the P^piscopal 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 5 1 

church, a large and graceful structure, before mentioned. 
To obtain a complete idea of Babylon and its surroundings, 
let the visitor ascend some fine day to the cupola of the 
Watson House, kept by that prince of Bonifaces, Selah C. 
Smith, and there gain a view covering an area of fifteen or 
twenty square miles, including, on the one side, the Fire 
Island light, the distant Atlantic studded here and there v'ith 
a snowy sail, the Great South Bay, the creek where a score 
or two of yachts lie at anchor, and on the other, the closely 
built village, and about it a smiling landscape dotted with 
villas, and suggestive of rural comfort and peace. 

For the benefit of those who would buy property in the 
vicinity of Babylon, it may be stated that village lots (50 x 100) 
sell at from $400 to $800, and good farming land at $600 
per acre. 

Still following the line of the thickly settled South Road, 
we reach 



BAYSHORE, 

(sgX miles ; 2 hours 13 inin. 4 trains each way daily.) 

A village which is considerably spread out on both sides of 
the railroad, and where may be found a number of elegant 
dwelHngs, occupied by men whose name 5 are familiar in 
New York financial and mercantile circles. There is a pop- 
ulation of about one thousand, and the village boasts four 
churches — Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian and Con- 
gationalist — a good school, and a famous hotel — the Old 
Dominy House. Land sells here at from $300 to $500 per 
acre. 



52 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

ISLIP, 

(42 miles; 2 hours 16 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

Is our next stopping-place. The depot and its surroundings 
give the visitor but Httle idea of the snug and pretty village 
of 800 people which he may find a short distance to the 
southward —a village with three churches — Episcopalian, 
Methodist and Congregationalibt — as many hotels, a public 
hall, a Masonic lodge — Meridian — and stores representing 
all branches of general trade. Here are the attractive resi- 
dences of J. Boorman Johnston, Esq., and Dr. A. G. Thomp- 
son, both ex-Directors of the South Side R.R. Co.; in the 
immediate vicinity, too, on Jackson's Neck, a picturesque 
cedar-studded point projecting into the Bay, stands the 
club-house where the Olympic Yacht Club of New York 
have their annual rendezvous. 

Three miles further on we pass the station known as 

CLUB-HOUSE, 

(45 miles ; 2 hours 26 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

Established for the accommodation of the members and vis- 
itors of the South Side Sportsman's Club, whose spacious 
and comfortable building and grounds may be seen just 
north of the track. In summer time, the Club-house, which 
accommodates about one hundred, is generally well filled 
with guests, among whom may be mentioned Recorder 
Hackett (the President of the Club), and numerous other 
prominent men, with their families. 

OAKDALE, 

(46,14 miles ; 2 hours 29 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

Has a small, scattered population, and boasts a school, post- 
office and one of the oldest Episcopal churches (St. John's) 



H^^MES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



53 




54 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

on Long Island. Just south of the track may be seen the 
handsome residence of VVm. H. Ludlow, Esq., ex-Assem- 
blyman from this district. Quite an important point is 

SAYVILLE, 

(48'^ miles ; 2 hours 36 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

At which we next arrive. Its population numbers about one 
thousand, and the visitor will find a pleasure in the general air 
of neatness and comfort which prevails. There are two good 
hotels here (one of which, the Bay View House, our readers 
will find advertised herewith), four churches — Metho- 
dist, Baptist, Episcopal and Congregational — excellent 
school facilities, a post office, telegraph office, public hall, 

All Through Trains stop at Sayville- 

BAY VIEW HOUSE, 

SAYVILLE, L.I. 
By ISAAC BEDELI . 

Near the Great South Bay. and two minutes' walk from the South Side 
Railroad Depot. Hotel Stag;es running regularly to all up trains. Now open 
for the accommodation of guests. 

The Proprietor, having made extensive additions in building, &c., would 
mvite the attenticn of those wishing to spend a few weeks in one of the most 
pleasant villages on the South Side of Long Island. 

Two Trout Ponds in connection with the Hotel. I ine Gunning, Boating, 
Fishmg and Still- Water Bathing. Boats for Fishing and Sailing Parties in at- 
tendance £t all times. Be .utiful Walks and Drives. Terms Moderate. 

Odd Fellow's lodge, and stores of various kinds. Among the 
permanent residents of Sayville are Hons. John Wood, 
a Supervisor of the county, and Chas. Z. Gillette, who 
formerly filled the same office. Sayville also is justly en- 
deared to amateur sportsmen by its proximity to the famous 
Green's Brook, just west of it (the finest trout stream, it is 
said, for miles around), and by the facilities in the way of 



« 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE, 55 

guides, equipments, etc., afforded visitors at the Bay View 
House for undertaking any fishing or hunting excursions in 
the proper season. At 

BAYPORT, 

(50,1^ miles ; 2 hours 41 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

We reach a village that is justly proud of the fact that there 
is not a pauper or a destitute family within its borders. At 
this point there are several quite elegant dwellings, (among 
which may be mentioned that of Walter Homans, late Su- 
perintendent of the South Side R.R. Co.,) an Episcopal 
church, with a Union church about to be erected, a well- 
conducted District school, a post office, and several well- 
stocked stores. The oyster and fish business of Bayport is 
also considerable, the Bay at this point being navigable up 
to the village front, with no intermediate marsh or meadow 
land. The population of Bayport is about 500. Stages 
connect at this point with all trains. 

Three-quarters of a mile further we stop for a moment at 
the pleasant little village of 

BLUE POINT, 

(,5iX miles ; 2 hours 44 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

With a population of two hundred, and a large oyster busi- 
ness, which has given the bivalves from this locality a dis- 
tinctive name in the market. "Blue Point" oysters are 
famous for their excellence the country over. 

There are two churches — Baptist and Methodist — a post 
office and school at Blue Point. The price of land here, 
and indeed at all points hence from Babylon, may be quoted 
the same as at Bayshcre. 

And now we approach the important town of 



56 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 




HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 57 

PATCHOGUE, 

(53?€ miles ; 2 hours 48 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

And looking from the car- window, may note on both sides 
indications that we are nearing a place of no ordinary activ- 
ity and life. On the right we see, stretching away to the Bay, 
the waters of Patchogue Creek, crowded with boats at an- 
chor, and hned on either shore with dwellings, boat-houses, 
railroads and ship-yards ; on the left, buildings, mills, church- 
spires and hotels loom up, and, ere we know it, our train has 
entered the depot — not a station building only, but a spa- 
cious structure built on the style of our large city depots, 
and containing commodious offices and waiting-rooms for 
the convenience of the public. 

Patchogue has been the terminus of the South Side Rail- 
road until the construction of the extension during the pres- 
ent year to Moriches. Aside from its importance, however, 
as a railroad point, it posseses intrinsic claims on account 
of the public spirit and enterprise of its citizens, the neatness 
and beauty of its edifices, both pubHc and private, and its 
delightful and healthful location. Deriving its name from 
the Indian word " Po-chough " (many Httle waters), a title 
aptly bestowed, there being no less than seven fine ponds 
within an area of a mile and a half about the village, Pat- 
chogue dates its settlement far back into the old colonial 
days, it being related that when General Washington made 
a reconnoisance towards the eastern end of the Island, there 
existed at this point a mill and a few houses, under the roof 
of one of which he temporarily abode. The superior water- 
power afforded by Great Patchogue Pond, a handsome sheet 
of water with a fall of nine feet at the west end of the 
village, appears to have designated it originally as an avail- 



58 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

able point for settlers, and to-day a cotton factory and a 
flour mill are both in active operation at that point. 

Patchogue has to-day a population of 3,000, and since the 
advent of the railroad in 1869, has been steadily growing. 
A glance at the spacious and handsome nev/ school house, 
recently erected near the depot, at an expense of $15,000, 
is alone sufficient to ensure the visitor that he is in a live, 
go-ahead community. There are four churches, too — Con- 
gregational, Methodist, Episcopalian and Roman Catholic — 
and three hotels, one of which. Roe's Hotel, under the 
management of Austin Roe, the veteran Boniface of Long 
Island, and his son Justus Roe, Esq., presents especial attrac- 
tions which will be found advertised herewith. 

I^OE'S HOTEL, 

F^TCHOC-TJK, L. I. 
AUSTIN BOB & SON, - Proprietors, 

{^"Carriages are in readiness on the arrival of every train to convey 
Passengers to the Hotel. .^^ 

The private dwellings of Patchogue include many elegant 
and tasteful edifices, prominent among which may be men- 
tioned that of Hon. Geo. F. Carman (ex-U. S. Collector, 
Assemblyman and Sheriff,) late the General Manager of the 
South Side Railroad. 

The business interests of Patchogue are varied and ex- 
tensive. A weekly paper, the Advance, is published here, 
and a well-conducted business-sheet, the Patchogue Business 
Advertiser, is also issued by Messrs. Broughlon & Preston. 
Well-stocked stores, representing nearly every branch of 
trade, may be found in the village ; and if the visitor will 
give himself the pleasure of a stroll down the shaded street 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 59 

j which leads him to the shore about half a mile away, he will 
vgain a fair idea of the immense oyster trade done at this 
'point, some three thousand bushels being sometimes shipped 
[away in a single day. 

The boating, fishing and bathing faciUties of this locality 
lare especially worthy of note, too, the Great South Bay, 
which is at this point about four miles wide, affording abund- 
ant opportunity for enjoyment in all three of the modes 
mentioned. Nor should the lover of rare and exciting sport 
omit to note that in the winter season, when the Bay is one 
wide-spread sheet of smooth, clear ice, he may, with a skill- 
jful pilot like Capt. Dan. Nev\ins* at the helm, shoot safely 
ijover it on an ice-boat at the lightning rate of a nlile a min- 
liute, and reach the outer beach in a space of time so short 
fas to make the journey seem more a dream than a reality. 
li" Captain Dan," who knows every foot of this coast and the 
, waters about it, has been fitly chosen by the Government to 
Ijtake charge of the Life-Boat Station on the outer beach, and 
jthe visitor who braves the cold and the ice will find in an 
l| inspection of the station, and its complete apparatus for the 
rescue of the shipwrecked, cause for pleasure and admira- 
(tion. 

' Leaving Patchogue, with its pleasant scenes and memo- 
ries, behind us, we pass on over the newly completed exten- 
'sion to the httle station at 



* On the 15th of August, 1870, Miss Mary Barlow, daughter of Charles Bar- 
low, Esq., of New York City, while sailing with a party cf ladies and gentle- 
men on the Great South Bay, opposite Patchogue, fell overboard in the middle 
of the Bay, and would have been most certainly drowned but for the bravery 
and presence of mind of Capt. Daniel A. Nev^^ins, who instantly plunged into 
the water, and, at imminent peril of his own life, succeeded in keeping the young 
lady afloat until the boat could be put about, and reached them. A handsome 
gold watch, presented by Mr. Barlow to Capt. Newins, bears an appropriate 
inscription descriptive of the exploit. 



6o HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

UNIONVILLE, 

(55^ miles. 3 trains each way daily.) 

Or Union Street, as it is sometimes called, situated in a fine, 
open farming region, with a large, though scattered popula- 
tion about it. While there is no village centre at this point, 
it may be stated that adjacent residents have the advantage 
of a good public school, and are near enough to Patchogue 
to render its church and mercantile facilities easily available. 
Two miles further on we reach 

BELLPORT, 

(57,¥ miles. 3 trains each way daily.) 

A flourishing village of a thousand inhabitants, and possess- 
ing the finest water-views of the Bay that we have yet met 
with. C. Godfrey Gunther, Esq., ex-Mayor of New York, 
is a frequent summer resident of this village, which, in fact, 
has been for many years past, notwithstanding its previous 
accessibility only by stage or private vehicle, a favorite resort 
for a great many well-to-do people from the neighboring 
cities. There are two churches — Methodist and Congrega- 
tional — a hotel, several handsome residences, and an educa- 
tional institute — the Bellport Academy — the reputation of 
which, for liberality and thoroughness of training, has ex- 
tended even beyond Long Island. 

From Bellport our road trends off to the north-east, and 
two miles and a quarter further on brings us to 

FIRE-PLACE. 

(S5% miles. 3 trains each way daily.) 

In old times, long before the days of railroads, or even 
stages, the country folks who came down to this point on 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 6 1 

the sea-shore from the interior to purchase hay, had erected 
here a large furnace or fire-place, around which they might 
gather for warmth on the cool, crisp autumn nights during 
their stay, and hence the village has retained its name of 
"the fire-place" to this day. Its post-office, however, bears 
the more modern and common-place title of Brookhaven, 
derived from that of the township in which its located. The 
village has a population of about eight hundred, with two 
churches, a school and several stores, and promises with the 
coming of the railroad to acquire a new interest and import- 
ance for those seeking summer homes on the South Side of 
Long Island. 

Two miles further on, our route crosses Carman's River, 
the largest stream, with one exception, on Long Island, and 
one possessing a splendid water-power for manufacturing 
purposes. \\' ithin half a mile of the point at which we cross 
is the pretty village of South Haven, where the Suffolk Club, 
of which August Belmont, John Van Buren, and other well- 
known men were, or have long been active members, has its 
head-quarters. The trout-fishing in this vicinity is said to 
be unusually fine. 

From Carman's River, our course lies due east a distance 
of about three miles through a comparatively thinly-settled 
region to Forge River, another important stream, the waters 
of which furnish motive-power for a paper-mill and saw-mill 
close at hand. Upon the west bank of this river, at its con- 
fluence with the Bay a short distance south of the track, 
dwell a small tribe of the Poospattuck Indians, who live in 
a state of partial civifization, and gain a liveHhood principally 
by the fish and oyster trades. Crossing the river, we reach 
the station at 



63 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



WEST MORICHES, 

(6:iX miles. 3 trains each way daily.) 

The point at which the passenger connects with the popu- 
lous settlement lining the old South road where it enters 
Moriches township, a short distance to the no:thward. In 
fact, from this point to the end of our route, now seven or 
eight miles distant, the traveler will find the country thickly 
settled, and the main turnpike roads assume the appearance 
of a continuous village. 

CENTRE MORICHES, 

(62!^ miles, 3 trains each way daily.) 

Has been for many years past a favorite place of resort for 
summer pleasure seekers, having been, prior to the present 
season, reached by stages from Moriches station on the 
Long Island Railroad. Fronting delightfully on the East 
Bay, containg several fine hotels, and a number of well-kept 
boarding-houses, offering to residents excellent religious and 
educational facilities, and with unsurpassed faciHties for 
bathing, boating and aquatic sports, it may reasonably be 
expected that, v/ith its increased proximity by rail to tlie 
Metropolis, its celebrity and popularity as a watering-place 
will hereafter be vastly enhanced. 

EAST MORICHES, 

(67% miles. 3 trains each way daily.) 

Possesses many natural attractions and surroundings in com- 
mon with Centre Moriches, and is a summer resort of a sim- 
ilar character. 

And now, hurrying on through this pleasant region, 
abounding in evidences of rural wealth and prosperity, and 
fanned by the healthful salt-breezes of the Atlantic, we near 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 63 

the termination of our journey, and in a few moments more 
come to a stand-still at the depot at Moriches, where our 
road forms a junction with the Sag Harbor Branch of the 
Long Island Railroad. 

And here for the present we rest. But beyond stretches 
a great, and populous, and thriving section of the Island, in- 
cluding the famous watering-places, Quogue, the Hamptons, 
and glorious Montauk ; and who knows but that at no dis- 
tant day our iron charger, not content with ending his jour- 
ney here, may still further speed us on over this smiling land- 
scape, and bear us to those now distant scenes of beauty and 
comfort. For less than ten years ago there was no railroad 
by which New Yorkers could find direct access to most of the 
attractive villages through which we have already passed. 
Rockville Centre, Freeport, Amityville, Babylon, Islip and 
Patchogue had all to be reached by stage by the traveler, 
Yet now, the South Side Railroad whistle has awakened 
them all to an unwonted life and vigor, and why may we not 
hope that ere another decade has elapsed, the same cheery 
whistle may re-echo from end to end of the good old Island 
of Nassau, along a pathway traversed daily by thousands of 
New York business men ? 



64 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



THE ROCKAWAY BRANCH. 

Rockaway ! what memories of sweltering summer days in 
town, of hurried seizure of valise and duster, of a rapid ride 
over the ferry, and on the cars, of a crowd of perspiring pas- 
sengers, babies screaming, fat old women suffering agonies, 
young ladies looking deliciously fresh and cool, and elderly 
gentlemen, with palm leaf fans, and utterly regardless of ap- 
pearance, sitting in their shirt-sleeves — all this, and then, 
after it all, first a whiff or two, and then a steady breeze, 
then a gale of glorious cool wind right from the ocean, and 
freighted with odor of salt and sea-weed, and with sound of 
roaring surf. Ah, reader, you've been there, hav'n't you ? 
No ? What ? Never been to Rockaway ? Come, put a 
change of linen in that valise, and start with me this very 
afternoon. 

We go out by the South Side Railroad, of course, to Val- 
ley Stream (see pages 24 to 27), and there change cars. In 
August, last summer, there were some days when the im- 
mense trayel lengthened the Rockaway train out to the num- 
ber of twenty odd cars. Think of it ! So many cars crowd- 
ed full of people eager for the beach, the bath, the good 
cheer of the neighboring hotels. Well, Rockaway Neck is 
the place for them, and has been. As far back as 1843, a 
writer, speaking of it, says : 

" Far Rockaway, long celebrated as a fashionable water- 
ing-place, has been annually visited by thousands in pursuit 
of pure air, and the luxury of sea-bathing." 

This, you know, was written thirty years ago, and evea 
then it is mentioned as being "long celebrated." Our great- 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 65 

grandfathers probably appreciated a good thing as well as 
we do, notwithstanding a generally prevalent tendency of 
ideas to the contrary. In fact, the poet's genius has been 
evoked to do justice to the beauties of the '' beach at Rock- 
away ;" but the lines have come to be so generally known 
and quoted, that we forbear to weary the reader by their re- 
production here. 

The region traversed by the Rockaway Branch Railroad 
for a distance of seven miles southward from Valley Stream 
to the beach, is a thickly settled one, forming, it may be real- 
ly said, one continuous settlement between the two points 
mentioned. At short intervals, depots are established for 
the convenience of residents or visitors at the neighboring 
hotels and boarding-houses, which in summer time bloom 
out like roses, but in winter are desolate and lone. Still, 
there is a large resident population which is all the year 
round tributary to the road, as many as four trains a day 
being run over the branch during the winter season. - 

Leaving Valley Stream, then, we pass first through a con- 
siderable stretch of woodland, and then emerge into the 
open country again, to find it liberally interspersed with 
farm-houses and villas. Our first stopping-place is 

HEWLETT'S, 

(16% miles ; i hour 16 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

Deriving its name from Geo. T. Hewlett, Esq., a large land- 
owner residing in the vicinity. There are here two churches, 
a store, a good public school, and a population of two hun- 
dred and fifty. A few more minutes, and we reach 



66 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

WOODSBURGH, 

(i8>^ miles ; i hour 23 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

A village offering, on account of its proximity to the ocean 
on the one hand, and Jamaica Bay on the other, superior in- 
ducements to the public as a summer watering-place. 
Woodsburgh owes its existence to the liberal enterprise of 
Samuel Wood, Esq., of Brooklyn, a gentleman of the old 
school, who, possessing large means, conceived the idea of de- 
veloping the resources and attractions of this his native place, 
and of founding there a town which should be second to 
rone, save Brooklyn, on Long Island. With this object in 
view, Mr. Wood purchased, in 1869, successive parcels of 
land, aggregating between five and six hundred acres, and 
has since that time projected and carried to completion nu- 
merous and extensive improvements thereon, making it one 
of the most desirable summer resorts on the entire coast. 
The location, which is only seventeen miles distant from the 
Brooklyn city line, is one of great beauty, and affords a fine 
view of the ocean, of Great South and Jamaica Bays, and of 
a surrounding country studded with groves, cottages, farm- 
houses, churches and hamlets. In the spring of 1870, the 
mammoth hotel known as the Pavilion (see cut) was com- 
pleted, and has subsequently been enlarged to double its 
former size, until it now covers an area of 28,000 square 
feet. The building, which faces west, has three stories, with 
a mansard roof and cupola, contains two hundred and fifty 
elegantly furnished apartments, has water, gas and steam 
throughout, a superb parlor, and well-kept billiard-room for 
both ladies and gentlemen, and offers, from its sweep of 
broad verandahs on either side, glorious views of the Atlan- 
tic on the one hand, and the forest and prairie lands on the 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



67 




jy^aBM^iaarvi 



^SS^IM 



mmrnm 




W TREADWEUL ENE N.Y, 



PaTliloa Hotel, Wdodsiirgh^ 

CONTAINING 

^-350 i:iegaixtly i^iirixislied. A.i>ai-tnxenLts ! 

WITH 

GAS, A.VD STEAM UE A TING APPARA TUS. 

Billiard Parlors for Ladies and Gentlemen 

Bowling ^kllf-ys, ISxtensjivw Stables, 

FINEST STILL AND SURP^ B4THING, PRIVATE BATH HOUSES. 

N. B.— This Hotel is frequented by the best class of summer visitors. 

l^OODSBURGH ! 

LOTS FROM $100 to $500. 
Terms ailasy to Actual Settlers. 

Cottages to Let, Furnished or Unfurnished, 

Address SAMUEL WOOD, 

192 niONT STREET, K. Y. 



68 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

otlier. At the foot of what is known as Boulevard Avenue, 
on the Bay, a spacious bathing-house has been erected ex- 
clusively for the use of guests. Boulevard Avenue is a de- 
cided feature of Woodsburgh, being fully one hundred feet 
in width, lined on each side with beautiful shade-trees, and 
extending a distance of one mile from the depot to the Bay. 
The hotel is kept by Mr. N. P. Sewall, formerly proprietor 
of the Madison Square Hotel New York. A handsome 
depot, with freight and baggage accommodations, has been 
erected, facing the Boulevard, on both sides of which thence 
to the hotel commodious and beautiful cottages, in various 
styles for the accommodation of both, permanent and tran- 
sient residents, have been erected. (See advertisement on 
page 67.) 

Visitors to Woodsburgh will find ample railroad and tele- 
graphic facilities in addition to the unusual accommodations 
previously mentioned. To those who would purchase 
property very reasonable inducements will be offered. 

A mile beyond Woodsburgh we reach the beautifully- 
located village of 

OCEAN POINT, 

(19 miles ; i hour 27 min. 6 trains each way daily.) 

Where the Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Railroad, 
coming in from the north-west, takes a course parallel with our 
own, hence to the beach, thus affording • residents at this 
point two lines of direct communication in both directions. 
The principal property owners at this point, the Messrs. 
Marsh, have spared^^no pains nor expense to render the sur- 
roundings of this naturally attractive locality as desirable as 
they can be made for the convenience and accommodation 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



69 




00141 llllik ilflB 

OJ^ ROCK A IV A V NECK, NEAR WOODSBURGH PAVILION, 



Junction of South Side and Long Island Railroads. 

Fifty Minutes from New York. 

Full View of Jamaica Bay and Ocean. 

Surf and Still Bathing, Boating and Fishing in Perfection. 

Most Delightful Neighborhood and Beautiful Surroundings for 
COOL IN SUMMER. WARM IN WINTER. 

UNSURPASSED FOR 

Salubrity of Climate, Warm Fertile Soil, 

AND 

Abundance of Pure Water. 
NO MIASMA, NO MOSQUITOES. 

500 Lots were sold last season at auction to an excellent class of persons. 
Broad, beautiful Avenues, Drives, and Boulevards bordered with Trees. Two 
Elegant Depots and a Splendid Pavilion are already completed, and improve- 
ments progressing. %M^ In Parcels to Suit Purchasers, at Private Sale, on 
Easy Terms. „^^ Altogether the most desirable, recherche, healthy and 
economical site for Homes in Winter and Summer, near New York. 

For Maps and further information, apply to 

JERE. JOHNSON, Jr., No. 21 Park Pvow, N. Y. 



70 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE, 

of prospective visitors or settlers. Aside from the the equa- 
ble temperature, the natural drainage, the healthfulness of 
the place, and its accessibility by rail or boat from New 
York, there are many improvements which the hand of en- 
terprise has added to adorn and beautify. Ocean Point Ave- 
nue leading to the beach, and Central Avenue, a wide, hand- 
some drive, well graded, curbed and shaded, have, with many 
other streets, been opened through the property. The grounds 
have been liberally laid out in lots, and in plots containing 
from two to sixteen city lots, over ten thousand feet of fenc- 
ing have been put up, and two thousand shade-trees planted, 
thus adding to the attractions of nature all the artificial sur- 
roundings which give beauty and promise to a modern wr.- 
tering-place. 

Even a glance at Ocean Point from the car window suf- 
fices to assure the passing traveler that it presents no ordi- 
nary c'aims upon the attention of the prospective purchaser 
of " a home on the South Side." The general air of neat- 
ness which prevails, the many tasteful dwellings of prominent 
city people who have already availed themselves of its ad- 
vantages, and the well-substantiated fact of its perfect free- 
dom from miasmatic influences, and those little pests the 
mosquitoes, all tend to insure the resident that quiet and 
comfort so much valued by those who seek rest and rural 
recreation. (See advertisement on page 69.) 

LAWRENCE, 

(2o>^ miles ; i hour 32 min. 4 trains each way daily.) 

Deriving its name from Messrs. Newbold and Alfred Law- 
rence, of New York City, is a village of about five hundred 
people, situated at the intersection of the railroad with the 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 7 1 

Jamaica turnpike. In its immediate vicinity are very many 
elegant and costly summer residences, some of them almost 
baronial in their size and style, and in the lordly hospitality 
of their occupants. Close at hand stand, too, many antique 
and interesting mansions, each with a family history of its 
own. Among these is Rock Hall, which has over one of its 
fire-places a painting of a child and dog, the work of the cel- 
ebrated American artist John Singleton Capley, the father of 
Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Chancellor of England. 

Residents of Lawrence enjoy good religious, school and 
postal facilities, and amid natural surroundings which are at 
once attractive and healthful. Says the writer previously 
quoted : " The atmosphere here, even in the hottest weather, 
is fresh, cool, and delightful. 

And now we near the Beach ; and the conductor, opening 
the door as the train slackens its speed, calls out : 

"FAR ROCKAWAY." 

(2t)i miles ; i hour 37 minutes ; 4 trains each way, dai y.) 

The depot is in a grove of oaks, beneath the shade of 
which the summer visitor finds a welcome shelter, before 
starting for the hotel which he may be presumed to have 
fixed upon as his destination. There are, of course, stages 
and carriages for those who need them ; but it is only a 
quarter of a mile or so to the village centre, so, let us walk. 

In winter time, all these mountains of plank and white 
paint and green Winds that we see before us are closed, and 
vacant. But now they teem with life and gayety. The 
clink of glasses and spoons in the saloons ; the clicking of 
billiard balls ; the rumbling of ten pins ; the rattle of wheels, 
and patter of pacers along the sandy streets ; the throngs of 



72 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

pedestrians ; the stages and express wagons, and foot pas- 
sengers with valises, all convince one that Rockaway, what- 
ever it may be in winter time, is now in the height of its dog- 
day prosperity and bloom. Now let us go to the Beach, 
The cjuaint winding street leading through the village, and 
lined by a score of hotels and boarding-houses, will lead us to 
it. And what an inspiring sight ! Hundreds of people are 
scattered over the sands ; children gamboling ; young peo- 
ple flirting ; papas smoking their segars, and looking sage ; 
and anxious mammas looking on with watchful eyes. Boat- 
houses, awnings and sheds line the shore ; and there are 
boats in readiness to carry us over the narrow river to the 
strip of land beyond, on the outer edge of which are clus- 
ters of bathing-houses, where no end of people in ridiculous 
deshabille are plunging — some boldly, some timidly — into 
the foaming breakers. This is the real Rockaway, here, on 
this open beach, with this endless refreshing breeze, blowing 
in from the Atlantic. Try it, reader, on the first warm sum- 
mer day, and you'll return to the heat and dust of New 
York, vowing, that there's no pleasanter spot within an hun- 
dred miles than a summer '' home on the South Side," at 
Far Rockaway. 

SOUTH SIDE PAVnJON 

Is a building erected for a restaurant by the railroad com- 
pany, at the point where the track, after leaving Rockaway 
depot, first strikes the open beach. It is almost daily occu- 
pied during the summer months by excursion parties from 
the city. There are bath-houses here also, and the Pavilion 
is connected with the outer beach by a plank bridge, obviat- 
ing the use of boats in making the transit to the surf. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 73 

From this point, the railroad trends away to the westward, 
traversing the sands of Rockaway Beach, aiiarrow peninsula, 
dividing Jamaica Bay from the ocean, and terminating at 
Rockaway Inlet, Along this beach are several noted and 
popular summer resorts, which are thus fortunately rendered 
easily accessible to visitors. The first of these is 

ELDERT'S GROVE, 

A hotel charmingly located close to the beach, to which, 
at this point, a grove of luxuriant cedars gives a picturesque 
and inviting appearance. 

HOLLANDS 

Is the next station, and derives it name from the proprietress 
of the public house, which forms the chief attraction of this 
immediate locality. 

SEA-SIDE HOUSE, 

The terminus of the Rockaway Branch, is a spacious and 
well-kept first-class hotel, built on the extreme point of Rock- 
away Beach, and commandng a view of Jamaica Bay on the 
one hand, and of the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The fa- 
cilities for surf-bathing at this point are unequaled ; and this 
fact, combined with the excellent accommodations offered by 
the Hotel, (see advertisement) and the frequent communica- 
tion with New York, both by rail and boat, (direct and via 
Canarsie), brings hither thousands of guests, and promises 
with each season an increased fame and popularity for this 
delightful summer resort. 



74 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

APPENDIX A. 

HISTORY OF BU8HWI0K. 

On the 1st of August, 1638, Governor Wm. Van Kief t purchased 
for the West India Company a tract, extendinii; from Wallabout 
Bay to Newtown Creek, and from the East River to the swamp of 
Mespaetches (comprising the whole of the former town of Bush- 
wick, now the Eastern District of Brooklyn) for eight fathoms of 
cloth, eight fathoms of wampum, twelve kettles, eight adzes, 
eight axes, and some knives, corals, and awls. 

To this tract was added, May 10th, 1040, the hereditary right of 
the great chief Penhawitz, head of the Cannrsee tribe, who claimed 
the territory forming the present County of Kings, and a part of 
the town of Jamaica. 

Beyond the construction of a small log building, for purposes 
of trading and defence, near Wallabout, or Wall-bogt, there 
appears to have been no step tow^ard an occupation of this tract 
until February, 16C0, when a party of nineteen French emigrants 
arrived, with an interpreter, and by permission of Governor Stuy- 
vesant, were allowed to settle upon it at a point near the present 
corner of North Second street and Bushwick avenue. In the fol- 
lowing year, the settlement having increased in population to 
twenty-three families, was first recognized as a town, r. ceived the 
name of Boswijck (Town of Woods), and was allowed a govern- 
ment in the person of three magistrates chosen from its own 
people. Thenceforward, it grew slowMj'-, its people appearing to 
have taken quite an active part in all public measures pertaining 
to the interests of their own and the adjacent town. A town house 
was erected, and is still standing with its quaint memories. Bye- 
and-bye, more pretentious dwellings were erected, many of which 
remain to the present day, half hidden away among the modern 
structures, as mementoes of the hardy aiventurous race that first 
settled these now densely peopled localities. The Conselyea House, 
a well-preserved specimen of Dutch architecture, erected prior to 
the year 1700, may be seen on the block bounded by Jackson, 
Smith and Skillmau streets and Graham avenue ; between Parker 
and Bennett streets, near Debevoise avenue, are the two venerable 
De Voe houses ; on Debevoise avenue is the Debevoise House ; on 
Bushwick avenue, near the north-east corner of that avenue and 
North Second street, is the old Beadel house, now a grocery store, 
and at the junction of Parker street and Kingsland avenue is the 
ancient Dutch graveyard, where repose the remains of many who 
went to their rest little dreaming of the busy scenes one day to be 
enacted on the site of the quiet woods and meadows around them. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDK 



75 




76 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

Among the old records of the town of Bushwick, may be found 
several last wills and testaments, which indicate a curious mistrust 
of widcrvvs. As an instance we may quote, the will of Cornelius 
Van Cotts of Bushwick, dated in 1726, which, expressed in a 
curious sort of half Dutch dialect, devises to his wife Aunetje his 
whole estate while she remains a widow, both real and personal, 
" but if she happen to marry, then I geff her nothiug of my estate, 
neither real or personal. I geff to my well-beloved son Cornelius, 
the best horse that I have, or else £1. 10s. for his good as my 
eldest son. And then my two children, Cornelius Cotts and David 
Cotts all heef (half) of my whole effects, land and moveables, that 
is to say, Cornelius Cotts heef of all, and David Cotts heef of all. 
But my wife can be master of all for bringing up to good learning 
my two children (ofPetten) school to learn. But if she comes to 
marry, then her husband can take her away from the farm, and all 
will be left for the children, Cornelius Cotts and David Cotts, heeff 
and heeff . 

In the year 1738 a census showed the population of Bushwick to 
be 302. Nearly forty years later it had assumed a prominent part 
in the revolutionary struggle, and in the Battle of Brooklyn and 
the retreat which followed, was represented by a company of 
militia under Captain John Titus. Shortly afterward, a regiment of 
Hessians, under Col. Rahl, were quartered in the town, being 
billeted on the inhabitants ; and by these intruders much of the 
valuable timber upon the adjacent property was cut down. Tra- 
dition says that a Hessian Captain «me day wantonly hacked with 
his sword one of the door-posts of the 8uydam Mansion (which 
still stands on New Bushwick Lane, now Evergreen avenue, in the 
Eighteenth Ward,) leaving thereon marks which are visible to 
this day. After the Hessians left, a battalion of Tory guides and 
pioneers were quartered in Bushwick. These men were exces- 
sively odious to the patriotic Americans, and at the cessation of 
hostilities found it desirable to leave the country and settle in Nova 
Scotia, where they were provided for by the British Government. 

Bushwick enthusiastically celebrated (Dec. 2d, 1783.) the evacu- 
ation of New York by the British, and sent (Nov. 25, 1783,) a 
congratulatory address to General Washmgton, who returned a 
courteous and patriotic reply. 

Af-ter the Revolution the Bushwick farmers sowed, raised grain, 
and cultivated their "garden sass" in peace. In 1814 their popula- 
tion had increased to 75i), and property began to increase ia value, 
on account of its proximity to what was then, as now, the Metrop- 
olis of the Nation. An enteri^risiug New Yorker, Richard M. 
Woodhull, bought of Samuel Titus of Newtown, fifteen acres in 
the vicinity of North Second street, laid them out in city lots and 
named the tract Williamsburgh, in honor of Col. Williams, an 
United States engineer who had surveyed the property. He also 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 77 

established a ferry to Corlears Hook (now Grand Street), New 
York. Shortly afterward, another operator, one Morrell, inaug- 
urated a similar enterprise, ferry and all, naming his tract York- 
ton ; but the country folks coming to town, first grew accustomed 
to the name of Williamsburgh, aud retained its use, notwithstand- 
ing the fad that both WoodhuU and Morrell became swamped in 
speculation, and their ferries were subsequently consolidated. 
But their enterprise survived the projectors, and thenceforward 
Williamsburgh grew rapidly. In 1827 (April 14th) it was incor- 
porated as a village ; in 1835 it had a population of 3311 ; in 1837 
it sustained serious drawbacks on account of the great financial 
panic; notwithstanding this, it still grew, and in ISnl (April 7th) 
was created a city ; and finally, in 1854 was. with its parent town- 
ship Bushwick, consolidated with Brooklyn, as the Eastern Dis- 
trict of what is now the third city in the Union. 



APPENDIX B. 

HISTORY OF JAMAICA. 

The first record of the settlement of Jamaica is an application 
made in 1656, by Robert Jackson and others, for liberty to begin a 
plantation half-way between Hempstead and Carnarresse (the home 
of the Canarsies). In the confirmatory deed to this tract, given 
by the Rockaway tribe, occurs the phrase "One thing to be re- 
membered that noe person is to cut down any tall trees wherein 
Eagles doe build theire nests." 

Tne first regular town meeting was held February 18th, 1G57, 
and on that occasion measures were taken toward a division of 
properly, as will be seen from the following quaintly written cer- 
tificate of purchase. 

Nov. ye 25th, 1656, (stylo novo.) 

"These presents declareth yt wee whose names are under writ- 
ten being true owners by vertue off purchase ffrom ye Indians, 
and graunt ffrom ye Governor and Councell given and graunted 
ye 21st of March, 1656 ; I say wee are the true owners by vertue 
off purchase and our associates, our names being under written 
living at ye new plantacon neare unto ye Bever pond commonly 
called Jemaica, I say we in consideracon off our charge and 
trouble in getting and settling off the plase have reserved ffor our- 
selves ye ffull and just som of 10 akers off planting land a man, 
besides ye home Lottes in ye nearest and most convenient plase yt 
can bee found, and soe likewise 20 akers off meadowing a man in 



78 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE, 

the coiivenientist plase they can finde, ami yt shall remaine as 
theires forever every mcin taking his Lott uccordiug to theire ifirst 
right to ye Land. Witness our hauds. 

Robert Coe, Benjamin Do3. John Townsend, 

Nicholas Tanner, Roger Lynes, Richard Townsend, 

Nathiiniel Denton, Sa-uuel Matthews, Geoige M lis, 

Andrew Messenger, John Laren, Robert Rhoades, 

D.uiiel D.Miton, Richard Everit, Henry Messenger, 

Abraham Smith, Henry Townsend, Thomas Wiggins." 

Richard Clasm're, Richard Sweet. 

In IfKJO Governor Stuyvesent granted a more ample patent to 
the above properly ; five years later Governor Nicoli issued a patent 
confirmatoiy of such lands as bad been purchased at different 
times, aad in 11185 Governor Dongan in turn issued a new patent 
therefor. 

Among the earlier records appears the following : 

^' April 0, 1062. — It is ordered yt those which doe not appeare at 
ye bsati: g of ye drum, to goe to burn ye woods shall pay 2s. Cd. 
to thos3 who goe " 

About the same time the town voted "a trooper's coat and a 
kettle to the Indians in full of their claims for lands heretofore 
purchased,'' if they would give a discharge to the town. This was 
accented, and the following releas ' was executed : 

"We whose nr.mes are under written doe by these presents con- 
fess ourselves satisfyed ffor the 8 bottles of licker yt was promissd 
by the town, and ulsoe ffor all rights and claymes ffor any land yt 
wee have fformerly sould ye towne. 

Witness our hands this ffiveteenth of April, 1GG2. 
Rockause. Lumasowie. Wauraitampac." 

Some historical r-vents of interest are also connected with the 
Presbyterian church, wtiich, about the close of the seventeenth 
csntary, was creeled in Jamaica. Il was a stone edifice, built in 
quidranguiir form, about forty feet square, find occupied a point 
now about the centre of Fulton Mreet, opposite Union Hall St.* 

Ill 1702. an epidemic pre trailing in Ntw York, Lr.rd ("ornbury, 
the then Governor, with his Council, look refuge in Jamaic;), and 
were hospitably received, the Rtv. John Hublaid, who was pastor 
of the church, giving the Governor poFscssion of the prrsonage, 
which was at that time one of the best houses in the place. But 
his Excellency, not crnlentwilh this, quitlly proceeded to instal 
his own rector, the Ecv. Pr.tri(k Gordcn, rn Episcopal clergyman, 
in the church, rnd one Sunday mornirgMr. Hubbard, on appear- 
ing to conduct the sf iviccs as usual, fc.ur.d the building croAvded 
With friends of the Governor, and the Ecv. Mr. Gorden in the 



*See Illustration in Losing's Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, Vol. 2, 
p. 811. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 79 

pulpit. He accordingly was compsUed to adiourn to an adjicsnt 
orchard. When Lord Cornbury returned to New York he left Mr, 
Gorden in possession of the church, and it wis not until 172 5, and 
after much litigation, that the Prasbyterians were finally restored 
to their rights. 

About this Sims period (Sept. 22nd. 1701,) Thomas Willett, John 
Tallman and John Willett. members of the Assembly from Queens 
County, were expelled the House and declared guilty of contempt 
for coatumiciously refusing to take their seats in the Assembly, 
and for sending a paper to the House, written "in barbarous 
English, and showing their unacquaintedness with the English 
language." The paper in question will, in the mind of lovers of 
the Kings Eaglish, certainly justify the sentence passed upon 
these unhappy wights. Real it : 

" On trie 2{)th day of Ougust last the house consisting of 2 per- 
sons, wbeareof the Speeker was one, Tenn of the number did in 
the House chalings the Speeker to be unqualified for his being an 
all ine and afterwards did repetit the s ime to the G wner, wbich 
they have all so giv in under theare hands ; upon which heed the 
House, being equally divided, could give noe decision. Till you 
give us f ider satisfaction, and the Speeker clere himself from 
being an aliane, we cannot acte with you to sit and spend ower 
Tyme and the Country's money to mak actes that will be voyd in 
themselves." 

In tLe old Jamaica burying ground, the modern visitor will find 
upon the moss-grown tomb-stones many a quaint and curious in- 
scription. Among the many old residents whose remains sleep 
here was Samuel Clowes, Esq., the first lawyer settled on Long 
Island, who died August 27, 17(iO. 

The Reformed Dutch Church in Jamaica was the first of that de- 
nomination in the country, and was organized in 1702. Its church 
edifice, wiiich was, however, not completed till 171.5, and at a 
cost of £3'>(), stood on the south side of Fulton Street, just in front 
of where the present Dutch Church stands. 

In educational matters, ton, Jam \ica took an early and earnest 
interest, an excellent Academical Institute, Union Hall, the third 
school building on L^ng Island, having been opened May 1st, 
1792. Among the voluntary contributors to this enterprise appear 
the names of Ex-Governors G3orge Clinton and John Jay, and 
among those who availed themselves at a liter day of its advan- 
tages was the f imous comediiUj Mr. Hackett, a grandson of the 
Rev. Mr. JCeteltas of Jamaica. 

In Revolutionary m liters J imaica figures but little. At the tim» 
of the B ittle of Brooklyn it was oecupied by a small force of 
Americans, under Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull, who, in consequenca 
of the tardiness of others, was prevented from participating in the 
engagement. On the previous day, however, becoming aware of 



Ho HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

Clinton's position, he had sent to the Provincial Congress an urgent 
request for reinforcements, but the regiments of Smith (Kings Co.) 
and of Remspn (Queens Co.) were too much needed on the lines 
at Brooklyn to be spared. "When Gen. Woodhull learned of the 
disaster which befel the arms of his countrymen on that fatal day^ 
he ordered his little command to fall back a distance of four miles 
to the eastward, and in the afternoon, with two companions set 
out from Jamaica to join them. While taking refuge from a 
thunder storm in the tavern of one Increase Carpenter, two miles 
east, he was captured by a party of British under Capt. Sir James 
Baird, who ordered him to shout "God save the King.'" He cried 
"God save us all," whereon Baird struck him with his broadsword, 
inflicting a terrible wound on his head and back, and would have 
killed him but for the interference of a iMajor Delancey. Gen. 
Woodhull was removed next day to a loathsome cattle transport in 
Gravesend Bay, and in consequence of an unskillful ampiitation 
of his wounded arm, died a few days afterward. 

After such outrages as this, it is not surprising that the inhabit- 
ants of Jamaica enthusiastically celebrated the advent of peace, 
as will be seen by the following extract from the Independent Ga- 
zette, N. r., Dec. 13, 1783 : 

" On Monday last the glorious event of peace was celebrated by 
the Whig inhabitants of Queens County at Jamaica. At sunrise a 
volley was fired by the Continental troops stationed in town, and 
the thirteen stripes were displayed on a liberty pole which had 
been erected for the purpose. At four o'clock a number of gen- 
tlemen of the county and oflScers of the army, who were in the 
neighborhood, sat down to an elegant dinner, attended by the 
music of a most excellent band, formerly belonging to the line of 
this State. After drinking thirteen toasts, the gentlemen marched 
in column, thirteen abreast, in procession through the village, pre- 
ceded by the music, and saluting the colors as they^passed. In the 
evening, every house in the village and several miles around was 
brilliantly illuminated, and a ball given to the ladies concluded the 
whole. It was pleasing to view the different expressions of joy 
and gratitude apparent in every countenance on the occasion. In 
short, the whole was conducted with the greatest harmony, and 
gave universal satisfaction. An address was likewise agreed upon 
to his Excellency George Clinton, Governor of the State, and 
signed by Francis Lewis, John Sands, Richard Thoms, Joseph Rob- 
inson, Prior Townsend, Abraham Skinner, Benjamin Coe, Robert 
Farnam and James Burling. " 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



APPENDIX C. 



A BEIEF ACCOUNT OF THE CmCTJMSTANOES ATTENDING THE DESTRUC- 
TION OF THE SHIPS BRISTOL AND MEXICO ON THE SOUTH SHORE OF 
LONG ISLAND IN THE TEARS 1836 AND '37. 

The awful catastrophe of these ill-fated vessels, and the conse. 
quent loss of life, are among the most melancholy events in the 
annals of Long Island. iSince the wreck of the British Sloop of 
War Sylph, off Southampton, no similar accident had occurred 
upon our shores, involving the sacrifice of human life to any con- 
siderable extent. 

The Bristol was an American ship, nearly new, this being her 
second voyage, and commanded by Capt. McKown, a gentleman 
long and favorably known as an able, prudent, and experienced 
ship-master. The cargo consisted of crockery, railroad iron and 
coal, besides an assortment of dry goods. She had on board a 
crew of 16, including officers, and about 100 passengers, chiefly 
emigrants from Ireland. 

The voyage was commenced at Liverpool Oct. 16, 1836, and 
after a pleasant passage across the Atlantic, made the highlands 
of New Jersey on the night of November 20th, and exhibited the 
usual signals for a pilot, but without success. At one o'clock on 
the morning of the 21st it began to blow severely, and the captain 
endeavored to stand out to sea, but the violence of the gale forced 
the ship more towards the shore, and about four o'clock she 
grounded upon the Rockaway Shoals, a few miles westward of the 
Marine Pavilion, it being on Sunday, Nov. 21. The following 
night was extremely dark, and the sea rose so high as to make a 
clean breach over the ship. The greatest danger was now apparent, 
and the passengers were advised to go below as the place of greater 
safety. The tempest increasing, a tremendous wave struck the 
vessel amidships, carrying away her bulwarks, boats, and every- 
thing movable upon the deck. 

The hatches were forced open by the concussion, and the hold 
was of course instantly filled with water, drowning most of the 
passengers below decks. 

From the dying, however, not a sound was heard, so instanta- 
neous and complete was the work of death. Parents and children, 
husbands and wives, relatives and friends met in the same moment 
a common fate ; thus perished in an instant of time between 60 
and 70 souls of different ages, almost within sight of the port of 
their destination. 

Although the vessel lay within half a mile of the land, yet, 
owing to the heavy sea, no relief could be afforded by the people 
now assembled on the beach. 

At daylight, on the 22d, the scene which presented itself may 
be more easily imagined than described. The wretched and suffer- 



82 HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



ing passengers and crew that yet survived were clinging to the 
shrouds, and to every other part of the ship which promised the 
least hope of safety. In this dreadful state of almost hopeless 
despair they remained through the succeeding day, although the 
shore was thronged with anxious spectators, ready to afford any 
possible assistance to the exhausted and perishing sufferers. But 
the gale continuing with unabated fury, no aid could be given; the 
surf ran mountains high, so as sometimes to exclude the hull of 
the vessel from the view of those on land. 

In the meantime, the ship struck against the hard beach with 
such force as to break her in two, when the foremast, which had 
not been cut away, went by the board. The miserable passengers 
continued thus a part of the following night, exposed to the 
spray of the sea, to the most intense cold, and the absolute cer- 
tainty of perishing by starvation also. 

About midnight the wind somewhat abated, and by almost su- 
perhuman efforts, and at the imminent risk of life, a boat manned 
by resolute and experienced seamen from the shore, reached the 
vessel twice, landing the surviving females and a portion of the 
crew safely on the beach. The captain resolutely refused to go on 
shore until the survivors were safe, and was the last person who 
left the wreck. The ship went to pieces soon after, her stern post 
being the only part of her visible the next day. 

About half the bodies of those drowned were driven upon the 
shore, and were decently interred by the public authorities. 

Mrs. Hogan, her daughter. Miss Hogan, and Mrs. Donelly, with 
her two children and nurse, and a few other women and children, 
were among those saved, but Mr. Arthur Donelly, the husband, 
was lost. He had twice yielded his place to others, saying he 
would not leave the wreck while a female or child remained on 
board. In a third attempt made to reach the vessel the boat was 
swamped, which deterred the hands from any further trial. Mr. 
Donelly, with the two Messrs. Carlelon, the remainder of the pas- 
sengers and the crew, sought safety in the rigging of the foremast. 
This soon failed them, and out of 20 persons upon it, Mr. Briscoe 
only was saved, having accidentally caught hold of the rigging of 
the bow-sprit and thus drifted ashore. 



Scarcely had the public mind recovered from the painful excite- 
ment occasioned by the preceding event, when another disastrous 
shipwreck occurred, attended with still more awful and aggrav- 
ated circumstances. 

The American barque Mexico, of 300 tons, was also from the 
port of Liverpool, commanded by Captain Charles Winslow, her 
cargo consisting of crockery, railroad iron and coals, which had 
been taken in aloni-side the Bristol. She sailed, however, seven 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. S^ 

days Inter, leaving Liverpool Oct, 23, 1836, with a crew of 12 men. 
including the captain, and 1 12 steerage passengers, tbe greater 
portion of whom were Irish emigrants. After a most disagreeable 
and boisterous passage of 69 days at the most inclement season of 
the year, the vessel arrived off Sandy Hook on Saturday night. 
Dec. 31, about 11 o'clock, and lay to upon discovering the light 
upon the Highlands of New Jersey. On the morning of the fol- 
lowing day she bore up for the Hook, making the usual signals of 
distress, and also for a pilot. None, however, made their appear- 
ance, and the captain, being apprehensive of rough weather, stood 
out to sea under the most discouraging and distressing circum- 
stances. The voyage had thus far been unusually long and tedi- 
ous; the passengers had generally exhausted their stores of pro- 
visions, and had for some time been allowed one biscuit a day each 
from the ship, a quantity barely sufficient to eustiin life. To 
which were added oil the direful apprehensions of still more pro- 
tracted suffering from the want of a pilot, and the danger of at- 
tempting at that season of the year to enter the harbor without one. 

The weather was cold in the extreme, attended by a violent tem- 
pest of snow. On Monday the captain again approached the Hook 
and also signalized for a pilot, m which he was equally unsuccess- 
ful. With a-i anxiety not to be described he was compelled, amid 
the intense severity of the weather, and the almost unspeakable 
suffering of his crew, to keep away from the land during the re- 
mainder of the day and. ensuing night. On Tuesday morning at 
I oclock, after the most terrible buffeting with the waves, the crew 
and passengers being nearlj'- perished with the cold, the vessel hav- 
ing drifted towards shore, struck the beach at Hempstead South, 
within about ten miles of the wreck of the Bristol. 

The thermometer was now below zero, and there was a high surf 
breaking on the shore. The main and mizzen masts were imme- 
diately cut away ; the rudder was torn off by collision with the 
bottom ; the water was rising in the hold, and the spray, which 
dashed incessantly over the vessel, was instantly converted into 
ice. The wretched and despairing passengers, driven from below 
by the accumulation of water, and without any means whatever of 
shelter or protection from the cold, crowded together upon the 
forward deck, expoced every moment either to be washed over- 
board or frozen to death, as everything around them was incrusted 
in ice. 

Some secured their money and other valuables about their bodies, 
and each clung with death-like tenacity to those they held most 
dear. In this extremity of despair, when scarce a ray of hope re- 
mained, men, women and children, from the sire to the lisping 
infant, embraced each other, and with what feeble power remained 
tried in vain to encourage and support each other. 

In this horrible condition they remained until secured by death 



84 HOMES ON THE SOU IH SIDE. 

from f urtlier agony ; and husbands, wives and children were after- 
wards found congealed together in one frozen mass. It was, in 
all respects, a scene of terror which language is incapable of de- 
picting, and which the most fertile imagination only can conceive. 

On the morning of the third of January, Raynor R. Smith and 
a few others, crossing the South Bay upon the ice, dragging their 
boat with them, arrived at the beach, a distance of several miles, 
determined, if possible, to afford some sort of relief to the suffering 
victims, but they soon found that any attempt to reach the vessel 
m the (then) state of the surf, would only be to sacrifice their own 
lives to no valuable purpose. 

The miserable strangers, still clinging to the mass of ice which 
the vessel presented, poured forth their supplications and cries for 
assistance in a manner which could hardly fail to move the stoutest 
heart. The heroic Smith and his valiant crew were wrought up to 
the highest pitch, and finally resolved that a trial at least should be 
made. The boat was accordingly launched from the shore, and 
in the utmost peril of being filled or upset, was able to reach the 
bowsprit of the vessel, when the captain, four passengers and 
three of the c ew who were upon the bowsprit, dropped into the 
boat and were conveyed with great diflBculty to the beach. But 
the danger which had been incurred, the state of the tide, the ex- 
treme cold and the approach of night, deterred the crew from 
attempting to again reach the vessel. Turning their backs upon 
the horrible scene, they made the best of their way home across 
the bay, aiding and supporting, as best they could, those they had 
rescued. But what must have been the feelings of persons on 
board, when they saw those from whom alone any relief was to be 
expected departing from their sight, can only be conceived ; their 
agonizing breasts must have been filled with a ten-fold horror. 
Thus, on that fated night, perished in the most awful manner 116 
human beings, 3000 miles from their homes, and within a few 
miles of the port for which they set out. 

* * * * 4i * * 

Several citizens of New York, duly sensible of the meritorious 
services of Raynor R. Smith on the above occasion, caused a silver 
cup, with a suitable device and inscription, to be presented him, 
the ceremony of which was performed by the late Wm. P. Hawes, 
Esq., March 25, 1837. 

The Insoeiption. 

"Presented to Raynor R. Smith, of Hempstead South, L. I., by 
a number of his fellow citizens of the Fifth Ward of the city of 
New York, as a token of regard for his noble daring, performed 
at the peril of his life, in saving eight persons from the wreck of 
the fated Mexico, on the 2d of January, 1837." 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 85 

APPENDIX D. 

"At Fort Neck (South Oyster Bay) on the South Side of Long 
Island, lived the Honorable Thomas Jones a Justice of the 
Supreme Court of New York, and a Loyalist of high repute. He 
v/as selected as the victim. On the evening of the 4th of Novem- 
ber, 1779, twenty-five volunteers, under Capts. Hawley, Lockwood 
and Jones, crossed the Sound from Newfield (now Bridgeport) to 
Stony Brook, near Smithtown, and marched directly toward the 
house of Judge Jones. They remained concealed m the woods 
one dav, and the following night at nine in the eyenmg were 
before the stately mansion. The Judge was entertainmg an even- 
ine party, and the young people were engaged m dancing, when 
the assailants knocked at the door. Their summons received no 
reply, and Captain Hawley broke open the door, seized Judge 
Jones and a young man named Hewlett, whom they found stand- 
ing in the passage, and hurried them off before an alarm could be 
given They lay concealed in the woods the next day, and the 
following evening prisoners and captors arrived safely at Fair- 
field except six of the patriots who, loitering behind, were cap- 
tured by pursuers. Judge Jones was kindly entertained at the 
house of Gen. Silliman by his lady, until removed to Middletown. 
The following May, 1780, he was exchanged f or Gen^ oilliman, 
and Mr. Hewlett for the General's son."— Lossmg s Pict. Field- 
Book 



WALTER T. KLOTS & BKO. 

DEALERS IN 

LIME, LATH, BRICK, 

AND 

Masons' Materials of Every Description. 



ALSO 



WELL BRICK CONSTANTLY ON HAND. 

Font South oth St Williamsburgh, one block south of South Side R R. Depot, 
Ld Foot RiSgton St., N. Y., tvvo blocKs north of Broome St. Hay Market. 

^^' Good facilities for loading vessels at either place, 

WALTER T. KLOTS. J^=S «' ^^<>^»- 



S6 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE, 



This Favorite Resort offers to permanent or transient guests unequaled 

attractions in the way of 

Still and Surf Bathing, Boating, Sailing and FisMng. 

It is annually visited by hundreds of thousands of guests. 




FOUR TRAINS DAILY from foot of Roosevelt and foot of Grand Streeli 
Aiew York. T(me, One hour and a quarter. Frequent Communica- 
tion by Boat. The Hotel is only three hundred feet from the Depot, and 
tjve hundred leet from the Atlantic Ocean. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 87 

P. C. BARNUM & CO.'S 

Wholesale and Retail 

CLOTHING WAREHOUSE, 

196, 19S &; 200 Chatbain Square, 



ONE PRICE! ONE PRICE! ONE PRICE! 



An Extensive Assortment of the most Fashionable Style of Cloth- 
ing constantly on hand. Also, Garments of every description 
made to order in the best manner. 

ALIi GARMENTS MARKED IN PLAIN FIGURES. 

P. C. BARNUM. CHARLES HORTON, JOSHUA BARNUM. 

KINGS COUNTY 

Flour & Feed Mills, 

TONJES, HOEFT &: CO., 

PROPRIETORS, 

TVos. 3I9 33 & 3^ BroadAvay, 

One Block from N. Y. Ferries. WILLIAMSBURGH. L. r. 



MANUFAOTTJKEES OF 



All Grades of Family and Shipping Flour. 



Corn Meal and Mill Feed of all kindsIGround Daily. 



8$ 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 




HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 89 

CROSS, AUSTIN & CO. 

Lumber Dealers, 

. Cor. Kent Avenue & Cross Street, 

BROOKLTN, E. D. 



LUMBER DELIVERED 



ON BOAED THB 



SOUTH SIDE R. R. 
FREE OF CHARGE! 



MAEYffl CROSS. SHERLOCK AUSTIN. J. B. IRELAffl. 



9© HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 

WILSON BUILDING, 

46 & 48 FOURTH STREET, 

(Adjoining SoniH Sifle R.R., only Fonr Spares Irom Sontt 7ili and Grand St. Femes,) 
Brooklyn, E. D. 



The undersigned, C. WILSON k SON, beg to return 
their sincere thanks to the pubUc in general for their patron- 
age and support, and would solicit those about furnishing 
*' Homes on the South Side," in full or in part, to ex- 
amine 



THEIR LARGE STOCK OF 



CARPETS, OIL CLOTHS, 

CaUnet Furniture and Bedding, 

Which are now offered at the lowest possible prices that can 
be obtained anywhere in this country. 

The stock is in every way complete, and it will be an ad- 
vantage to every one who may favor them with a call and 
view the same before purchasing, elsewhere. 

Having made very extensive purchases from IVIeSSPSt 
JOHN CROSSLEY & SONS, m England, of their well- 
known Carpets, of elaborate patterns, splendidly designed 
with colors blended in every shade, which are constantly ar- 
riving, enables them to fill any orders they may receive 
from friends and patrons. 

Yours respectfully, 

C. WILSON 56 SON. 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 9! 

BUSHWICK 

mm WORKS 

Cor. Boulevard and Scholes Street, 

BisooK;L~srN, e. r>. 



FRANCIS S. HAAS, 

i=»i^o:p:RiE!To:R. 



MA^OJFAOTUKER OP 



Ornamental Iron Work 

HOUSE ^wor-k:, 

STABLE FIXTURES, 

House and Cemetery Railing and Gates, 

HOUSE CRESTING-S, 
CLOCK FRONTS, 

-AND- 

MACHINERY CASTING 



OF ALL DESCBIPTIONS. 



92 



HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 



EDWARD C. MOFFAT, 

Iffo. 143 Fourth Street, 

BROOKLYN, E. D,, 

18 PEEPAKED TO SUPPLY 

HOMES ON THE SOUTH SIDE 

—WITH— 

HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS! 



STOVES, f SILVER-PLATED WARE, 

HESTERS, SWISS CARVED GOODS, 

FURNACES 

FINE CUTLERY, 

Ki^LlSTGES, 1 Botli NlcM and Silyer-PlateJ. 



PlunilDing and Gas Pitting 



t^ jA. SI^EOI-A-LX^5r. 



Gas Fixtures, Shades, etc., and PUmilers' Materials fiir- 
nislied in all tlieir several kinds and at reasonable prices. 



143 FOURTH ST., 
Brooklyn, £. D. 



SOUTH SIDE R. R. 

Of Long Island. 

Passenger and Commulalion Rates 

FROM BROOKL YN TO 



STATIONS. 



Bushwick 

Fresh Pond- 

Glendale 

Richmond Hill... . 

Berlin 

Jamaica 

Locust Avenue.. . 

Springfield 

Brookfield 

Valley Stream 

Pearsall's Corner. 
Rockville Center. 

Baldwin's 

Freeport 

Merrick 

Bellraore 

Ridgewood 

S. Oyster Bay 

Amilyville 

Breslau 

Babylon 

*Bay Shore 

*Islip 

*Oakdale 

*Sayville 

*Baypo:t 

*Blue Point 

♦Patchogue . . 



ROCK AWAY BRANCH. 



Hewlett's... 
Woodsburg. 
Ocean Point. 
Lawrence . . . 
Rockaway. .. 



Local, 



.12 
.12 

•15 
.20 
.20 
•30 
30 
.40 
.40 

• 45 

• 50 
•55 
.60 
.60 
.70 
.70 
•75 
.85 
•95 

$1.00 
1. 10 
1.2s 
1-35 
1.40 
^•45 
1-45 
150 



•45 
•45 
.50 
•50 
•50 



COMMUTATION. 



Months. 6 Months. 12 Months. 



15-00 
16.00 
18.00 

20.00 
25.00 
30.00 

33-00 
33-00 
33^oo 
35.00 
37.00 
37.00 
42.00 
42.00 

45^oo 
47.00 
50.00 



$28.00 
30.00 
34.00 

40.00 
40.00 
40. CO 



46.00 
46.00 
46.00 
47.00 
50.00 
50.00 
55-O0 
55-00 
60.00 
62.00 
62.00 
I 70.00 
% h. •■ 46.00^ 

1 -r 47-00 
I 2 ^. 48.00 I 
rt 52.00 \ 
^^ I 55-00 j 
I 2 ^ 56^oo 

£ g g. 60.00 J 



42.00 
42.00 
42.00 
42.00 



60.00 
60.00 
60.00 
60.00 



$50 00 
50.00 
50.00 



60.00 
60.00 
60.00 

75.00 
75.00 
75.CO 
75.00 
75.00 
75.00 
75.00 
75.00 
80.00 
85.00 
85.00 
90.06 
95.00 
100.00 



80.00 
80.00 
80.00 
80.00 



School Commutation. 

School Children, 16 years of age and under, may commute for three months, 
ten miles for $1.50 per mile, fractions of a mile of half and over to count a full 
mile ; over ten miles, $1.00 for each additional mile and fractions thereof of half 
a mile and over. 

Commutation Between Stations to Adults. 

Will be issued for three months at one-half the regukr fare, counting 78 
round trips, which must in all cases be performed within the three months for 
which the ticket is issued. 



^ FAMiXy^ 
SEWING MACHINE 



The sales of these Sewing Machines in 1871, as reported under, 

oath, in 1872, to the owners of the Sewing Machine patents, 

show, that the 

SINGER MANUFACTURING CO. 

SOLD DURING THAT YEAK 

181,260 MACHINES! 

Ninety per cent, of them being for Family US3. 



-THIS IS OVER — 



50,000 

More sewing machines than were sold by any other Company 
during the same period. 



MACHINES SOLD ON EASY TERMS ! 



Principal Office, 34 Union Square, New York. 



JL' tl O 31 ^4. S C 

Agent in Buooklys 

Office, 326 Fulton 


Street. 



J. W« Pratt, Steam Book and Job Printer, T5 Falton St., N. Y. 



V '«• '.'^#%^,* «.* 







•^-v-^^^' 








•" ♦ .. ^ •"• ^ %. '"^' A- 














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'n.i 



